UpperTale
by 5iveAM
Summary: The war between humans and monsters never ended. Monsters were never forced underground and humans still hunt them. Sans learns the hard way that even a good human can leave horrible memories that will torment him and his shattering soul forever. All that keeps him alive now is what was left behind by those that haunt him. (UPDATES VARY)
1. Chapter 1

**HOLY SHIT IDK WTF HAPPENED WITH THIS HOLY CRAP**

 **I FIX IT**

 **WELCOME TO UPPERTALE! An AU created by my good friend Quad and I ^^**  
 **We've been working on this for quite some time and we're finally far enough into it that we want to start posting it :D**  
 **I'll be posting her chapters on here as well as mine so be prepared! Updates will be every Wednesday ^^**  
 **Don't forget to review, follow/favorite, and SPREAD THE AU~!**

He was back there again. With her. In that field they always met. Young and naive. It was a constant so familiar that he could even smell the soft air filled with the drifting scents of flowers and pine and wet leaves. He always loved these times. The grass against his bones, between his fingers and the ring of flowers on his head tickling him as they moved with him.

She was smiling like always. The worries of anyone finding them way in the back of their minds as they continued laughing at some lame joke he'd come up with. Which was all the time. Her hair, a light shade of blonde with dark streaks and eyes as brown as mud were all he cared about. Most humans had straight brown hair and blonde was rare, but she had little streaks of both that made her special.

Enjoying her company was as easy as the smile plastered on his face. Just as pleasant as laughing along with his own puns when no one else did.

"You're always so funny, Sans," she said, finally, when they had stopped snorting.

He scratched at his head. "Yeah, I try to be. Someone's gotta lighten the mood. It's either my jokes or I start lighting fires. That aught a brighten up the day!"

Charisma giggled once more. "Don't set everything on fire! That's so bad!"

The skeleton echoed her snicker. "I couldn't if I wanted to. No powers yet. I'm a useless bag of bones. Although I could ask my fire buddy Grillby to help out." He winked and she kept up her giggle fit. "So how'd you sneak out this time? Hasn't your dad been asking stuff yet?"

The blonde shrugged. "I just tell him I'm going hunting. I set traps on the way here and check them on the way back." She messed with a strand of hair, twirling the brown strands around her finger. "What about you? Don't you have to watch your little brother?"

Sans waved it away like a smoke cloud. "He's, like, two. I put him down for a nap so he should be sleeping for a while." A looming sadness ebbed in then. One that he has feared coming. "I wish we didn't have to meet secretly. It feels bad."

"But we have fun right? How's that bad?" She knew what he meant. She knew very well what he meant.

The war between humans and monsters had been going on for so long that it seemed normal for the two species to immediately hate each other. That was why it was weird when Sans had found Charisma laughing at his jokes the first day she'd ran into him. It had been such a shock that the two kids decided not to call for help and instead get to know each other. Later they'd admitted to first doing it to try and get closer to them and get information, but then they'd truly grown close and any other plans had fallen through. They began meeting every week in the afternoon. For nearly a year now.

"I'm just scared someone will find out. We're such good friends… it's weird."

Those brown eyes softened. "We're not weird, Sans." Fingertips brushed across smooth bone, caressing his face. "We're friends." A tint of red lit up her cheeks and Sans felt the familiar blue tingle reflecting on him. "I care about you and you care about me. What's so weird about that?"

"But we're enemies- at least… we're supposed to be." Sans took a deep breath and let it out. "Charisma, I've just… been… I mean… You… I don't want you to get in trouble, I mean, for seeing me."

Her hands remained there, holding his face toward hers. "I don't care. I want my village to know because… You're so nice and you make your dad and brother sound so sweet… I want them to see that not all monsters are scary."

That knot of sadness jerked into fear, popping and spreading in a panic. "You know what they'd do to me if they saw me…!" he whimpered.

Her happiness faded then, smile dropping. "I know."

"That's why I don't want anyone to see you either." His hand came up to hers, resting on her wrist. "I don't want them to destroy your soul."

She nodded. "Yeah." Charisma leaned forward resting her head against Sans's. "I don't want that for you too."

They sat there like that for a while. The peace of being near each other resonating from within them and settling their nerves. With little to no speaking they were able to comfort each other in a way that Sans had never experienced before. He liked it. The small amount of effort it took other than just physically being there. Every tiny movement of her thumb against his blue cheek… Each moment of tightening his grip on her wrist… The simple feeling of her heart pounding and his soul calling out to hers with southing waves.

 **Charisma** moved, closing the small distance and placing a soft kiss against his mouth, backing off quickly with a shy smile.

Taken aback, it took a moment for Sans to smile back at her. He couldn't see his life without her. In some ways he couldn't imagine her life without him. Heck, he couldn't imagine the life she often told him about. He knew so much and yet so little… He wanted to understand the many things she told him about the humans' technology.

He took what he could and hoped one day to better know what she spoke of. Maybe she didn't understand his stories either but copied him and listened with a smile. One day he wanted to take her to his home and show her everything she didn't know about. One day… he wanted to be able to see her without being afraid.

A crack broke into the comforting silence. Something small and solid cracked against Sans's shoulder forcing him away from her. The pain was intense as whatever it was had cracked his shoulder, blood slowly oozing from the split in his bone. He held back a scream as tears built up in his sockets and poured over. Not able to ignore the pain the only sound that struggled out past his teeth was a pathetic whimpering cry.

"Sans…!" Charisma had moved toward him but a hand yanked her away.

A tall, dark figure stood over the small skeleton. A solid black barrel pointed down at him, smoke drifting from the hole at the end. "Creature…" growled the low voice from the male human behind the weapon. "Stay away from my daughter! You can't have her soul!"

Sans flinched and scooted away from the danger in front of him but another shot fired, ripping through his jacket and only scraping at his ribs. Still the pain was unavoidable, vibrating down the bone and into his spine. Drops of blood soaked into his jacket from both wounds. As his body realized he was under attack, his soul appeared before him… small and blue and afraid. The edges of the small heart wavered from injury. Fear had the tiny object shivering where it floated against his chest. The monster grabbed for it to shield it from harm.

"Dad! Stop!" Charisma was grabbing at his shirt only to be pushed back and told to run. "Dad you don't understand- Please!"

"No! _You_ don't understand, Charisma! This _thing_ only wants your soul!" The weapon snapped, a shiny yellow shell falling from it. It clanged to the ground and for some reason made Sans feel all the more in danger. "I won't let it hurt you. I WON'T!"

Light flashed from the end of the barrel.

Sans shut his eyes, but no pain ever came.

Did it miss?

Opening his eyes, Sans flinched at the floating bones before him. Long and crooked, somewhere in the mass of bones stretched a spine that swirled around the smaller skeleton ending in a strangely shaped skull. Spikes lined the jaws and rose up the muzzle with curled horns edging the head. Two glowing orbs hovered in the eye sockets, orange and blue. "Wh…what…?"

"Sans."

He jumped, turning to the voice. "Dad?!"

"Are you alright." It was a question but didn't sound at all like one. Gaster was an intimidating figure. Extremely tall and thin with a skull holding two cracks up and down either sides of his sockets. Though his eyes were normally white, the orange and blue glows there now were enough to make him terrifying even without making a face.

"I…I'm…" Sans didn't say it but winced and gripped at his bleeding shoulder.

Gaster's attention turned to the motion, but it was only his eyes. Without changing his expression he was looking back at the human now pointing his weapon at him. "Human."

The weapon snapped again, a shell falling from it.

"Take your young and leave. I don't wish to show such violence in front of my offspring." Then his eyes burned, energy flowing from them like reversed rivers rising up into the nothingness of air. "That being said, if you attempt to fire at my son again I will not hesitate in relieving you of your soul."

The human stopped, weapon lowering. He grabbed up Charisma and ran. The blonde reached from her father's shoulder, tears in her eyes. Wordlessly she screamed for him as they vanished into the forest.

Sans reached out to her wishing he could stand and go after her. He couldn't. He was wounded but something else felt wrong. It was like a part of his soul had gone with her. Releasing the blue heart in his hand he saw how it shook and faded in and out like a heartbeat. It remained against his chest, not vanishing like it should when he's no longer in danger. It's not like this hadn't happened before… He'd been in fights with other monsters… Why wasn't it going away?

"Sans," Gaster knelt down to him.

Not wanting to seem vulnerable, Sans unzipped his jacket and hid his soul inside. "It's not that bad," he muttered in reference to his shoulder and ribs. Still the pain was there and it was something he wished would just go away. The cracks in his bone pulsed with the waves of his panicking soul.

"We must get you home. We can talk later." There was a look in those once again white orbs that seemed to give off a feeling of compassion. "For now you need rest. Your soul needs rest. Come, son." Gaster held out a hand and Sans took it accepting the help up.

The two left the clearing. Every step further and further away felt like another small part of Sans was being left behind.

Step… after step… after step… He couldn't breathe. His soul panicked-!

Sans sat up with a jolt, blue glow in his left eye illuminating his vision of his darkened room. The memory was over. He was awake. No longer a child and no longer innocent in his own skull. It was a new time with old ones lost to the forward flow. Charisma was gone as far as he knew yet still he couldn't get her smiling face out of his memories. Funny enough he was older now – twenty-three, right? The years all mixed together anymore – so thinking of a younger girl's face and feeling nothing but love for her didn't seem at all right. Reminding himself that she was grown now and living her life made it feel less creepy.

The ache in his shoulder persisted even though it was healed long ago. Remembering that day so vividly had brought the pain back intensely enough that his soul had appeared again. It hovered against his chest shivering and flickering with dim light. So fragile. There had always been a small black blip within the glow showing the small part of him that had left him that day. It had weakened his emotions, but it wasn't the only thing that'd weakened him.

Apparently his dad had known about Sans and Charisma meeting and had been watching them. Studying them. Seeing how a human and monster could get along so well. He admitted that they seemed so similar that it confounded him to why humans and monsters didn't get along to begin with. Still he thought it was best if the two didn't meet again – much to Sans's dismay.

The ordeal of losing her, his only friend at the time, was hard. Gaster must have noticed because he began bringing Sans and Papyrus to work with him at the lab. The two mostly sat around playing with empty test tubes and other various things in the lab. Sans couldn't help but laugh at remembering the day Papyrus had gotten his head stuck in a beaker. It had taken an entire stick of butter to get it off and Gaster hadn't been too happy about it.

Over time, his dad had begun testing out some different machines. He would test them on small creatures but never got the results he needed. Sans asked if he could help since Papyrus was sleeping and he was bored. His dad thought it over and, after a few hesitant tries, nodded.

He could still feel the flash of the ray, the electric sting of it across his bones only for it to settle on his chest and embrace his soul. It didn't hurt, per say, but feeling something foreign holding your soul wasn't something Sans could call pleasant. As quickly as it had grasped the floating heart, it let go and San's felt odd. He crumbled to his knees gripping at his chest and where the soul had vanished from sight. He felt tired. There was no pain but hos exhausted he was had him winded and afraid. He couldn't breathe… Why couldn't be breathe…?!

The effects wore off eventually and Gaster was pleased with what had happened, both smiling and sounding worried as he ran to check on his son. This process continued over many months and the more he endured it and the many other machines that his father had created, it seemed the faster their effects took hold and the longer it took for him to recover.

One day… he didn't.

Sans had collapsed. He couldn't move let alone breathe. Unlike any other times the effects didn't fade. He never got the feeling back in his bones. Actually it got worse. His entire body felt like it was shivering without him wanting it to. When he was able to think about it, he looked at his soul and saw fine lines drawing across it. It was cracking. His soul was breaking.

Gaster had panicked then, scooping the skeleton up and rushing him to his assistant who was more skilled in medicine than science. Before even getting there… Sans watched his soul slowly splitting in two and blacked out before it fully broke.

No one ever told him what had happened after that. Papyrus's excited yelp when he woke up was all he recalled and then lots and lots of bed rest with almost no strength returning. He was never the same after that. Any time he got too upset over anything his soul would appear before him and small lines would make their way over it.

Even now as he recalled everything…

Sans took a deep breath and let it out. The panic swelling within him faded with each inhale and exhale pushing back the crumbling cracks forming across the heart. It healed right up the more he woke up and forgot about those days. He was doing fine now. All he had to worry about was Papyrus's training for the Royal Guard. That wasn't truly the biggest thing on his mind, though.

Before he could delve back into his memories, the door to his room opened. "Brother? Are you awake yet?" It was Papyrus. Up early as usual.

"Yeah, bro, I'm up." Sans laughed halfheartedly. He was already climbing out of bed when the door opened all the way and his brother stood in the doorway. "Leaving already?"

"Yes. Undyne said she wanted to train us in the cave outside of the village so she said to leave early." The much taller skeleton still stood there.

"Well? Aren't you going to hurry and get out there?" When he didn't move, Sans asked, "What's wrong? Dog got your leg?" He offered a smirk, snickering at his own lame joke.

Even with the stupidity of it, the other smiled and looked away to hide it. "I was just making sure you were up. Can't have you sleeping all day, lazy bones."

"I'm awake already." Throwing his jacket on, Sans left the darkness of his room and memories behind to try and let the oncoming day cheer him up.


	2. Chapter 2

**5ive here! How ya doin'?**

 **I forgot today was Wednesday ^^' heh... Anyway! Chapter 2 is written by Quad so ENJOY! (our writing styles are very different FYI so try not to get too confused by it~)**

Silence danced through the kitchen, stirring the air ever so slowly- painstakingly gentle. A weak, tingling sensation crept over his tired bones, making Sans sink slowly into the foldable chair next to the dining table.

I could have just let him leave in quiet... Why'd I have 'ta open my big mouth? The words rang bitterly through his skull as remnants from their fight mocked him. How desperately Sans wanted to keep his sibling home, away from the raging wars of Hell outside. Constantly turning away from the years as they go by; each time Papyrus walks out that door there's only a clumsy child to be seen in the eyes of the oldest brother- unwilling to accept that a proud-standing, carefully coordinated skeleton walked in the youth's footsteps.

One wrong word spoken, a flash, then a defiant BANG- the door sealing his fate.

Why he insisted on fighting with the younger, Sans was unsure. The arguments were never terrible. A snap here, a growl there, quiet apologies not quite breaking through until sad eyes looked down upon a cracking heart, soon being left alone to his thoughts. No, they weren't too much to deal with- nor did they occur often; but they were just enough.

Pushing his glasses further up onto the bridge of his nose and adjusting the tape which settled them upon his head, Sans released a heavy sigh that'd been caught within his chest- keeping his emotions in their forced, neutral state.

Tugging on his baseball cap and pulling his sweatshirt's hood up over it, shielding weary eyes from a tired world, the skeleton decided that perhaps a walk would do him good.

Might as well crash into ol' flamehead's place while I'm out. Could use a good burg 'n talk. The thought brought a small grin to Sans's face.

Standing up from his chair and shuffling over to the corner by the door to swap out the indoor, pink bunny slippers on his feet for plain, worn-out black slippers, the pun-filled bonehead dragged himself through the door.

THUNK!

"Shit!"

Slipping around the door to see what in the world could have crashed into it, Sans flinched when he saw a tubby little furball with his legs waving wildly in the air- head stuck in the snow.

Walking over, he gave one of its furry paws a little tug and lifted the young monster out of the freshly-fallen powder with a quiet, crackling crunch as the ground was disturbed.

"Y'alright there, kiddo?" He asked, voice lower and quieter than it had been in his home, causing a rough, almost snarling tone to coat his words.

It was quiet for a moment, face hidden with the frost stuck to its fur, before two beady, black eyes shot open- startling Sans so bad, he fumbled and nearly dropped the kid. Not that it made much difference whether he dropped it or not, considering the eager little furball leapt from his arms and bounced around in a happy circle.

"Thank you for helping me, sir! Thank you, thank you!" The hairball chirped.

Allowing a light-hearted chuckle to escape, Sans grinned. "No problem, kid. Couldn't just give ya the cold shoulder, now could I?" The skeleton replied, snickering at his joke, before continuing, "What's y'er name, frostbite?"

Giggling at the nickname before answering, still bouncing on its toes in excitement, the monster exclaimed, "Name's Tilly! Silly little Tilly- that's wha' Mima calls m'eh!"

"Heh, cute. You scamper home, Til. Y'er parents are pro'bly concern'd." And they're very right to be... He added silently.

"Will do, Mister Skelly! Thank-thank!" Tilly shouted out, already ducking around Sans before taking off down the dirt path- which must have just been cleared by the residents recently.

Finally closing the house door, Sans hummed slightly as he looked across the small town.

To the left and right of his own home were square-shaped, dingy little huts that had tent flaps folded over the fronts to serve as the door, and straw roofs. Simple and easy to tear down, in-case the war-zone reaches them.

These shelters continued on in a wide circle through the center of a wide clearing, separated from the forest by a tall fence that jutted up, over the village, about three feet shorter than the trees themselves. One opening at the front of the village- a gap in the fence- was the main entrance for citizens and refugees alike; guards kept this area under high surveillance, regularly switching out tired shifts for alert and well-rested soldiers.

Behind Sans's house and that whole row of shelters, there was no fencing. A space between two shelters on either side of the town led out to two pathways, continuing to follow the forest's foliage through the back of the camp, and entered a clearing with a large, sparkling lake which provided their water supplies.

Out in front of Sans, in the center of the village, was a single, long, rectangular tent with multiple stands and tables on the inside where foods and various supplies were sold, along with the occasional "good luck" charm or hand-carved knickknacks that the residents would sometimes buy to comfort their children- or even themselves.

Taking in a deep breath, the sharp, fresh scent from the snow overwhelming his senses, Sans turned to his right and decided to take a stroll around the town before heading off to Grillby's.

Despite being the most well-kept camp in the monster community, it wasn't the best looking place in the world.

Archers positioned in the sentry stations at the top of the fence's highest poles, monsters as young as twelve years with armor strapped to their chests trying hard to lift their weighted spears up high and march with pride amongst the much more coordinated leaders. Innocence ripped away, so far gone that their eyes were darker and colder than Undyne- Captain of the Guards.

A sad sight, to say the least. The human infantry was powerful; rumor has it spies were sent to learn more of the monster's magic and build resistances against it. This is why the numbers were dropping... why so many came back in debilitating conditions, or didn't return at all. Why innocents were being trained, yanked up from their families without a say in the matter; not understanding why they out of all of them would be led to their doom.

"Sans? Is that you? It's been quite awhile!" A gentle voice called out, snapping Sans's attention away from gleaming armor and instead to two, shining eyes looking down at him.

Toriel.

"Oh. Hey, Tori." He greeted his old friend.

She was a tall goat monster with a calming gaze and sweet smile. Large, fluffed up ears rested against her chest and her goat-like nose scrunched up in amusement. "Haven't seen you out and about in a week or two," Tori said, "how have you been?"

"Ah, y'know, same as always." The skeleton grunted, awkwardly tugging his hood, "The same bonehead I was since we last saw each other."

Toriel laughed at his pun, adjusting the little bag of groceries tucked under her arm, "That one never gets old!" She snorted.

Sans's smile widened ever-so-slightly. "Really? I figured it'd be bone-dry by now."

She laughed again, this time with retaliation; "Gee, you're really tickling my funny bone today!"

Sans snickered, "Good one. Jus' don' let me get y'er goat." They spent a little time playing jokes back and forth, walking as they talked, heading down the right-hand path at the back of the settlement, before stopping at a tent a couple yards away from the lake.

"So, you're payin' ol' Grillbz a visit, too?" Sans asked. Stupid question, considering she'd walked with him the whole way here, but he still asked.

"Oh, yeah! Figured it'd be nice to see how he's doing. Nostalgia got to me, I suppose."

With that, Sans nodded- giving a small grunt in agreement- before pulling back the tent flap and letting Tori walk in first, following after her.

A comforting warmth washed over his bones, causing a soft sigh to escape his mouth and he closed his eyesockets for a moment. The warmth was followed closely by the quiet crackling of flame.

Opening his eyes again, Sans genuinely smiled at the sight of the fire elemental and the soft, orange glow that emitted from him.

Grillby stood behind a simple, wooden bar at the back of the tent. Racks of alcoholic drinks lined the wall behind him, and four stools lined the bar. The rest of the space was occupied by two square tables- three chairs to each.

Sans took a seat at the bar, not even saying a word before Grillby plopped a plate down in-front of him with a burger, then slid an extra bottle of ketchup over to him.

"Thanks, Grill." Sans said, his voice more relaxed now- not quite as gruff as before.

The bartender nodded before attending to Toriel- whom had sat a seat away from Sans.

Turning his attention back to his food, the monster was about to take a bite when a sudden, familiar chuckle startled him; "Ya go'na share some'a tha' with me?"

Eyes snapping up to whoever had talked, Sans ended up looking himself dead in the eye- except one eye was... glowing.

"Good grief, Tale." Sans grumbled, upon realizing he wasn't looking in a mirror, "Ya could warn me when you're go'na show up like tha'."

Tale shrugged, his blue hoodie shifting with the motion, "Y'seemed pretty happy so Swap and I wanted t'join the fun." He said, gesturing over to Sans's right.

Looking in the direction Tale pointed, star-lit eyes were seen beaming at the bar around them, Swap's skeletal smile wide as can be. "Wow! We haven't been here in ages! Mwehehe." He chirped, a single orange eye flickering cheerfully.

"It's only been a day, though..." Sans muttered, but left his other self to enjoy the excitement.

Swap and Tale; interesting monsters. In a way, they were kind of like Sans's power and protection. They were there whenever he got angry, upset, defensive... anytime his, well, abilities got out of control, they showed up. If there was something to fight, they helped him fight it off.

If he'd been set off into a panic attack, they talked it out and helped him calm down. Sans could tell, though, that his friends and brother didn't see them the way he did- in fact, more often than not they referred to the Blasters as "pets." Not sure as to why, he just went with it.

Sans seemed to be the only one that really understood what they were, what power they had, and why they earned the name "Gaster Blasters" a long while back- not long after the incident that led them to meet. They sure lived up to their name sake- just as protective as the old man. He thought.

Taking a bite from his burger and chugging about half the ketchup bottle, Sans dwelled on the memory for a bit.

"Oh-hoho! Tori's here t'day!" Tale said, gazing over at the woman where she sat, reading a book.

Sans groaned, muttering to Tale, "Please don't start..."

"Wha' can I say? She's my ram." He replied, smirking, and not looking away from Toriel.

Sans had to try really hard not to laugh at that one, putting on his best glare at Tale.

He finally let a rough chuckle slip, though, when he saw Tale's pupils flickering into little heart shapes. Love-sick bonehead... He thought, before returning to his meal and finishing it up slowly.

Sans talked a bit with Grillby, grumbling a couple times about the anxiety he'd been having lately- mostly involving Papyrus's training.

Grillby mostly listened- never being much of a talker. But Sans didn't mind, he was just glad to have someone to talk to that really understood. Even though the elemental never stated his understanding, the skeleton just knew that he did.

Soon, the heavy topics faded out and laughter filled the small bar. Toriel had joined in on the conversation, puns were being thrown, goofy- yet almost deep- wondering about how different things in the world work; like if plants could think or had a soul... anything to be talked about was talked about.

Sans mostly tried to keep his side of the conversations short and pun-filled. He wasn't much for chit-chat, really.

Swap kept to himself, bouncing around the tent with his little, blue scarf waving happily as he went. Tale stuck around Toriel, making her rather uncomfortable.

Sans hid further into his hoodie each time the blue-eyed skeleton would comment about her new sweater or ... even her backside a few times.

But, luckily, no one else seemed to know that the Blasters could talk. And, frankly, their antics were kind of calming- no matter how ridiculous.

For the time being, Sans was really happy.

It wouldn't last, but- for now- just listening to the crackling of Grillby's fire and Toriel's contagious laughter was enough to make Sans finally ease his stiff bones.

He really felt at home.


	3. Chapter 3

**5ive here!**

 **Sorry this didn't get posted yesterday... Internet was bugging out any time I went to FanFiction...**

 **But here ya go! Chapter 3! Just like I promised :D**

 **Next chapter will be out May 25th if my internet will allow it ^^ LOVE U GUYS! And thanks for the patience!**

It was nice to sit and relax for a while. Normally Sans helped Grillby out at his bar keeping Royal Guardsmen company and trying to convince them into either buying something to eat or getting more alcohol. It was a lazy effort but any extra money helped out the hothead. No one would be coming in until later so for now it was just them. Something he hadn't experienced in a while.

Just as their happiness was something he thought couldn't be broken, the door to the bar swished open and three monsters stumbled in helping a fourth get to a chair. She had a large slash in her armor, green stains burning into it - poison. Fur covered her face – she was a little bunny girl Sans had seen around the village – so it was impossible to see the color of the skin beneath. All that showed her state of pain was her panting and tightly shut eyes.

Grillby was already around the bar with an unlabeled bottle, several rags, and a bag with a red check on it. His flames flickered and sparked, the elemental was worried for the girl. He knelt beside the small group and was giving them supplies that they already went to work using, dabbing them with the liquid in the bottle and wiping or pressing them to the wound hidden behind the melting armor.

Sans watched on from his bar stool knowing he'd get in the way if he tried anything. Beside him Toriel fiddled with her drink looking just as flustered. Tale and Swap had vanished for now.

Their efforts didn't seem to be helping.

Grillby worked more frantically, but he stopped and sat back.

As he did it was as if the girl's frame began to fade from existence, the color turning dull before an invisible breeze took her body away in a whoosh of dust. Instead of it disappearing on that wind, it gathered just to the side of where she'd been sitting in a neat pile on the ground.

The other three that had brought her in all stared at it in horror. One of them began weeping while the other held her close and the last glared at Grillby like it had been his fault.

It was never good to see a monster die like that. Not only was it unsettling to say the least, it also meant something was powerful enough to do it and that thing was nearby.

" **What happened?** " Grillby's smoke crackled and flickered making words that Sans voiced for the others.

"It was some humans," the angry looking guard muttered. "Jumped us when we were training… Majie was the first hit." He slammed his fist into her empty armor, tears finally falling from his eyes and he slowly began to crumble into himself. "We could have done something but we froze!"

No one said anything. They let the children cry and comfort each other. Anything the other three could have said wouldn't be as meaningful as the friends to each other.

Then it hit him. "Wait, trainin'? Who was your trainer today?"

"Undyne," the girl muttered through hiccups.

"U-Undyne? Y'mean by the cave?" Sans's felt his body going cold. Colder than normal. This was the kind of chill that easily sent a threatening crack through his soul. The solid black line shown all too painfully against the brilliant blue. He ignored it and the feeling of everyone's eyes on him. Without waiting for an answer that wouldn't come due to their shock, Sans ran out of the tent, Grillby's flames sparking in protest.

Panic set in and he took a shortcut through the market tent in the center. No one noticed him as he seemingly jumped past it all and was already making a beeline for the front gate.

 _Pap! Please be okay! PLEASE don't let me be-_

"Oh hi, Sans!" It was the guard by the gate. She was an older monster, been in the guard for years so of course she was watching it alone. For the life of him he couldn't remember her name right now but he remembered they often joked about her hardly working when all she does is stand the day away.

Either way, it wasn't a time for chatting. He ran right past her.

"Sans?!" The snake woman had reached out to stop him but couldn't risk leaving her post just for one monster no matter how much she got along with him.

He pushed on through the snow wishing that they would make some better paths beyond the village. The cold powder found its way into every nook and cranny of his slippers – he really needed to buy some boots for when it snowed too much – and it was so high in some places that even following the many foot holes didn't help him and his shorter legs. Wearing sweats wasn't the best either as the snow clotted in the fuzzy fabric or melted making them icy and heavy.

Finally reaching the crossroads, Sans had to bend to take a breather. He didn't do much of anything so got winded easy. Leaning on the empty faced sign at the split, he let his body catch up with him.

Getting his energy back he took the left path and set off running again.

It didn't take him long before he found a small group of guards all laughing and hooting over what seemed like their victory over the human ambush. Among them he spotted his brother, unhurt apart from a small crack along his jaw. It would heal soon enough but it was still there and that was all that Sans focused on.

"Oh? Brother? What are you doing out here?" Papyrus had spotted him.

"I… at Grillby's bar… A guard… She…" Oh how hard he held back the joke 'bit the dust'. "Pap…"

The broken up words did make sense to him and Papyrus smiled. "Brother, I've got great news!" He left the others to walk past them heading back toward the village. "Come, we can talk and walk. Unless you're too lazy then I'm leaving you behind!" Of course he wouldn't, but the annoyance was real.

Sans was reluctant, but nodded and fell in step beside the taller skeleton. His soul pulsed noiselessly against his chest, the vibrations of it sending cold shivers through his hoodie. He needed to calm down.

"I'm sure you're wondering what this is on my jaw," Papyrus said, pointing out the fine crack. "Well this _battle scar_ got me into the Royal Guard! Sans, I'm no longer a trainee! I'm actually in!" He was positively glowing. Absolutely ecstatic.

His brother was the opposite. "Y'a… got in…? Yeah… great job, Pap. I'm proud o' ya." There was a sickening glass sound that was swallowed up by the snow filled air. Another dark, jagged line had crossed his soul down the center.

"Yes! We were attacked by humans today and I, the great Papyrus, risked myself to help another! Undyne said I was so brave – just like a real guardsmen – that she accepted me into the Royal Guard right there!" If the wind were blowing like it were in that innocent doof's mind then his lame pose right then would look so much cooler. Not that it wasn't already, but Sans's worry for him clouded his thoughts.

"Y'eh… cool…"

Papyrus blocked his way. "Are you even listening, Sa- OH!" He stepped back. "Brother… your… your soul. Are you alright?"

Sans cupped his hands around it, the fabric of his fingerless gloves blocking the glow. "I was worried 'bout ya, Papyrus. Some girl was brought 'ta Grillby's and… she… turned t' dust."

That made him flinch. "M…Majie? She's gone…?" He looked away.

Sans laughed. "Stupid 'ta think a bunch of humans could take my bro away from me, right? You're a better fighter than me- why did I even come out here? What could I have done? Throw snowballs? I'll stuff some bones in them. That might help."

Papyrus didn't say anything though he looked like he wanted to.

"Yep, useless Sans t' th'a rescue! Careful! He m'ght take a nap on ya!" He laughed again, words beginning to slur as he tried to recover from his suffocating panic. "If ya stay still long enough maybe he'll get too bored and go home. Easiest fight ev'r!" It was all putting him more and more in the dumps. But he couldn't stop. "And when his back's turned y'can just-"

"Sans, stop." A hand gripped his shoulder, the pressure right where he'd gotten shot so long ago. It didn't hurt but he was always aware of anything touching there. It was sensitive in an emotional way.

He glanced back to the blue fish lady standing there. "Undyne." Sans was grateful for her stopping his rant.

She smiled softly. Her red hair was messed up from whatever fight they'd been through with the humans. Luckily this area wasn't close enough to camp to be much of an alarm. "Papyrus fought well today. You don't have to worry about him any time soon."

Not like it would stop it, but hearing Undyne say that sincerely did help.

Her eyes moved down to the cracked blue light flickering beneath his hands. "You need to go home and sleep. You've been through a lot today." She was always so caring when it came to the smaller brother. Of course she loved Papyrus as well, but Sans was always a special case for her it seemed. She had helped raise him so she knew exactly how fragile he was.

Exhaustion waved over him from the flickering soul. Without him wanting it to, his eye began glowing.

"Y' s'riously need 'ta just go lay on th'a couch," Tale poked in, leaning on his shoulder. "You're crackin' up."

Swap appeared at his other shoulder, orange eye glowing brightly. "Wowie! Look at those dark cracks! That's not good!" He frowned, a strange action for him. "How about sitting on that couch and having some hot tea!"

"Ew, tea? Forget that. Just have Pap get ya a bottle o' ketch'p."

"That won't help him, Tale!"

The other floated off and around Undyne. Whatever he said didn't register… Sans's world was shifting and twisting around him. He was passing out. As he watched the world fall sideways the two alternate versions of him faded in a wisp of smoke.

Back again. In that time when he was naïve and the world was unforgiving yet at the same time not all that scary. Humans were a confusing species and monsters were definitely good. At least in his mind he didn't think monsters could be evil and that not all humans were bad.

He lay resting in bed still staring at the wall feeling every second ticking by but not feeling bored. It was a strange state: too tired to do anything but not _not_ enjoying it. He huffed and rolled over flinching at the ache in his shoulder. The cracks had stopped bleeding after his dad wrapped it – same with his ribs. Still it hurt. The pain radiated in hot flashes any time it was disturbed.

As he lay there feeling the comfort of his pillow pressing kindly against his skull, his door opened. Sans sat up seeing his father and brother in the doorway.

"Sans!" Papyrus said happily. He was older now by three years – five. Sans was ten now yet the younger brother was nearly a foot shorter than him and catching up each week. It didn't bother him at all so he ignored that his brother was most likely going to be taller than him one day. "We are going herb hunting! Want to come?"

Outside? It had been months since he'd last been out of the house. Gaster had often taken him out but with the recent events leading to Sans's being incapacitated… whatever that word meant… a walk outside sounded like what he needed.

Their dad stood there looking at Sans with that same emotionless expression that somehow screamed how sorry he was for what had happened. It wasn't something Sans liked seeing but again ignored it. As long as Gaster was including him in things and not leaving him inside to rot… then he accepted whatever he could get.

"A walk sounds great." Throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and plucking his glasses from the nightstand, Sans dropped to the floor and followed them outside. He didn't use to need glasses but after the incident his vision had become faded and blurry and never improved. Gaster allowed Sans to test his glasses and ended up letting him keep them and made himself a new pair. It had been the last time his father had done something with a smile so Sans treasured the specs.

At first he felt odd and lightheaded, but the longer they walked the better he felt. Still weak and sickly – like he was getting over a fever – but better than lying in bed all day. Even if he did enjoy that.

They left past the gate, waving to Undyne as they went, and followed the path to the blank sign at the crossroads. Gaster took them right without answering Pap's question about the blank sign and soon they came to a field on the left full of different flowers and bushes. Summer in the forest was Sans's favorite time. The foliage was always so pretty. It reminded him of Charisma.

A pang in his soul had him twitch and he instinctively reached for his chest to protect the heart. It hadn't shown up so he just grabbed at his jacket.

Gaster was there without hesitating, kneeling down to the skeleton and resting a hand on his uninjured shoulder. "Sans? Is everything alright? Do you need to head back?"

"N-No. I'm fine." He let go of his shirt watching as if expecting the faint blue glow to appear. It didn't and he sighed, relieved. "What are we looking for?"

His father explained a small flower, bright red with orange leaves. It was something that bloomed around this time of the season and he intended to get as many as he could. It held a type of venom that he needed to improve something that Sans didn't understand. It grew in bushes so Papyrus was already off digging in any bush he could shove his hands in.

Sans went off in another direction leaving his brother to scope out that end. As he crossed the field to search near the tree line he couldn't help but feel his father's presence not too far away. He was searching through bushes when the small skeleton checked, but the feeling of unspoken words hung in the air. "Dad?"

White orbs turned to him slowly followed by his head. "Yes?"

"Was… Did- Did you want 'ta say something?" He was getting tired of his dad not talking to him. Sans knew he was sorry about what happened but Gaster had never spoken it aloud.

"Hmm. Yes." He returned to searching. "I wanted to tell you to hold on a little longer."

 _Hold on?_ "What's that s'pposed 'ta mean?"

"To your feelings. That human girl you were friends with." He moved to another bush getting closer to his son. "She was good. I've never seen a human so kind, but then again they attack me as soon as they see me. She was the first human I've successfully observed without her knowing of my presence." Once again he turned to face his son, expressionless but this time without the hundreds of apologies hidden within it. "That girl knew you were a monster and accepted you."

Sans fiddled with a branch in the bush he had his hands in. "I knew she was human," he muttered. "I was scared o' her, but she laughed at my jokes. I didn't think anything evil could laugh at something that wasn't someone's pain."

Gaster smiled, kindly. It softened the intimidating nature of his tallness so he looked much more fatherly. "Not everything is evil if you look hard enough." As if to make a point, he held a vine in his hand from the bush Sans was searching through. Spines lined the length of the vine, but as he pulled it out further and further… a flower appeared on the end. Scarlet red with orange leaves. It was the flower he'd been looking for.

A sudden BOOM broke the air. Heat rushed past Sans's shoulder and the jerk of his clothing had him yelp.

Instinctively Gaster grabbed up his son and pushed him further into the open field away from the trees, shielding him with his body. As he did so he was yanking at the skeleton's jacket until he found the burnt and ripped edge where a bullet had ripped through. No damage to Sans just the jacket. Once away from the trees and Papyrus was close by his side, the taller monster turned back toward the attack. His eyes flared brightly and the large creature that protected Sans so many year ago appeared, spine swirling around the three of them with rib cage jutting out just before the large, spiked head. Orange and blue glowing eyes burned like fire and colored smoke as its mouth opened, jaw split, and a light glowed ready to fire from the ribcage up to the opening.

As if knowing this was their cue to show themselves, humans stepped out of the forest, about fifteen of them. At the end of some of their arms were attached wires that hooked to dogs all growling drool and barking. The humans all stood across from them leaving their backs open to flee. None of them spoke, just pointed their guns at the three skeletons waiting for them to attack first. It was like they didn't care that two of them were just children.

Sans looked in hopes of spotting Charisma or even her dad, but none of the faces were familiar. At the same time it was a relief not seeing her at the other end of one of those weapons.

"Sans."

Hearing his name he jumped and looked up to his dad.

"Take your brother and run." It sounded like he was taking all of his strength to keep his voice steady. A gruffness to it showed he was serious. "Now."

"B-But dad…! There's too many of 'em- You can't-"

"Please, Sans. Take Papyrus and go." He took the risk to glance down at them, smiling forcefully. "I'll meet you back home. Go, now."

It took Sans another moment, but the sound of a gunshot and the appearance of bones blocking the attack made up his mind. He grabbed his brother's hand and took off.

"Wha- Wait! What about- Father needs us! Sans!" Papyrus struggled and pulled against him but Sans was still big enough that anything his smaller brother did was almost useless. "SANS!"

"We have 'ta go, Papyrus!" he yelled back almost overcome by the rising sound of dogs barking followed quickly by several yelps and growls. "Run!" Sans kept on, pulling his brother right behind him. It was clear that Gaster hadn't stopped all of the dogs and some were now chasing them.

The shorter skeleton still protested, slowing their progress. "But dad-!"

"He told us 'ta go, Pap! Just listen t' him!" He dragged his brother down the path leading toward the crossroads with the blank sign. Sans was already turning down the main road before even reaching it when something furry and solid rammed into him knocking him down.

"SANS!"

The older brother struggled to get his focus when another furry body slid over him, teeth finding a hold on his arm. He screamed unable to pull it away. The dog's teeth were caught in the gap of his arm and weren't letting go. It shook its head violently risking to yank his arm clean off. "PAP- RUN!"

He didn't. He stood there shaking, wanting to help. Sans could see it in his face. He wanted to help.

"RUN! GET HELP!"

 _But I'm right here… I can help…_ Sans could basically hear him thinking with how he began looking around. Much to his unease, Papyrus found a thick stick and had picked it up using it to jab into the back leg of the other dog eyeballing Sans.

It yelped but now had its sights on the youth.

Frightened, he dropped the stick and the dog was on him.

Sans could no longer feel his arm.

He watched as the dog's teeth bit down on his brother's hand and the most ungodly noise he never wanted to hear again tore past Papyrus's teeth.

"I've heard o' throwin' a dog'a bone but I don't think they meant one o' y'ers."

Sans flinched at the unknown voice, but before he could look the static feeling of energy crackled behind him and a white light slammed into the dog at his arm. The entire lower half of it was demolished leaving a bloody, singed hunk of fur that slid from his arm to lie in a twitching heap. It was alive for all of one minute before the eyes glazed over and the dog was dead.

"Well you could have killed it faster. Poor thing." A figure knelt down beside the husk of a dog, petting it. As Sans focused on it he saw… himself? A blue scarf, lose white shirt and gray shorts and… where those blue boots? The other him looked up with a smile, one orange eye with star-like glittering lights inside. "I hope Tale didn't hurt you with that attack. You should be more careful!" he said, scolding the one behind Sans.

He looked and, again, saw himself but in a light blue jacket with a gray hood and black shorts. "Yeah yeah, at least I got that _tooth ache_ out'a th'a picture."

"You're not funny."

Sans shook his head. "Who… are…?" He felt lightheaded, blood making its way down his arm from the scratches the dog had left.

"I'm Tale and that's Swap, lat'r. I think y'er bro is in a bit o' a _pup_ -dicament." The blue hoodied one pointed and Sans once again heard that high pitched scream that scratched at the inside of his head.

"Stop with those stupid jokes, Tale. They're not funny." The orange eyed doppelganger, Swap, knelt down beside Sans. "Just say the word and the wonderfully amazing Swap will get rid of that puppy for ya!"

"See? Even you're makin jokes."

"I literally meant the dog! Don't start with me!"

Sans's vision was beginning to falter. He looked back to his brother, held out his hand and pointed at the dog. As if feeling like he needed to aim at it he lined his finger up so he knew Papyrus wasn't in the line of fire. "Do it," he said, almost begging.

"You got it." As Swap spoke, that static of energy built and a harsh beam of light broke through the air, ripping a stream through the afternoon light and spraying blood from the impact up the canine's spine.

It didn't die right away, gnawing still at its prey like it didn't know what was happening or what to do now that it was in unimaginable pain.

Again, Papyrus screamed and that's when Sans felt something inside him stir.

He pushed himself to his knees and lifted one hand. Bones shot up out of the ground piercing the dog who was now completely mindless in what it was doing and refusing to let go. "GET OFF MY BROTHER!" Sans screamed, voice ripping out of him.

Static built up and two hard beams of light shot from Tale and Swap as well as bones flying at the creature standing there.

As the light died into small trickles of glitter all that was left was Papyrus holding his cracked hand and looking at Sans with wide sockets. His eyes glowed a faded orange, tears streaming down his cheekbones.

Sans could feel that Tale and Swap were still there even as they said nothing. Papyrus was looking at them not seeming to understand why they were there. Well, he was in the same boat as Sans. He didn't know where they'd come from or why they listened to him instead of doing it on their own… but he was grateful. He couldn't have done that on his own. Even now… his soul was wavering.

Actually…

 **SNAP.**

"Sans!" Papyrus was running to him, hands out and clasping the flickering, vibrating heart.

 **CRACK.**

A wave of cold rushed through his body. Sans felt strange… His chest hurt- his entire body hurt. Where his soul blinked bright and dim, the edges of it jumping with each pulse… it hurt. It was a cold sting that made him feel numb. It spread over his entire structure…

 **CRACK. SNAP.**

Sans fell forward from the force of the fissures forming across his soul. He imagined this was the true feeling of dying. What humans felt. He needed help.

On either side of him, Tale and Swap hovered with feelings of worry very obvious on their minds. They never bent to help as Papyrus forced his brother to stand, nor did they hand a shoulder on the walk back toward the village. Blood soaked over Papyrus's shirt but he said nothing of it. Every few steps Sans would falter and the smaller skeleton would right him before continuing their slow pace. All the while Swap and Tale remained at their side, not helping but instead keeping a look out for dangers.

Everything blurred together as they reached the village and suddenly Sans was on the ground. He heard screaming and could feel his body being rocked back and forth, turned over and picked up.

The softness of sheets and more hands pressing on his wounds or on his chest examining his soul.

The worried voice of Alphys not knowing what to do or how to stop something.

Several times Gaster's name was mentioned – the only word Sans recognized over and over – but never did he hear his father's voice.

Wet drops on his face and the soft orange glow of his brother's eyes.

The room was fading again.

Again his dad's name mentioned.

Unsure bickering…

 _TCH._

Something sharp stuck into the pulsing, shivering, fragile, and broken thing he could only barely call his soul. Coldness spread through the small area and suddenly broke across his body.

Sans's sockets opened wide, focusing just enough to see the other's all smile as well as become scared and yell for him as his vision rolled back and he was out.


	4. Chapter 4

**AGAIN WITH THE DAMN INTERNET PROBLEMS**

 **Sorry, the updates will be every Wednesday AS SOON AS I CAN GET THEM UP! Promise ^^**

A single name tore through searing heat, the only armor of protection ripping off of freezing bones. Blue fire flickered in the dark, flames consuming every inch of his vision.

Panting. Cracking. Repeated sobs crying out to one lost soul- gone for so long the sound of its identity was nearly foreign to the air, untouched by _him_ for so long. But the whispers remembered, they clung to the memory with every last bit of strength and hope- as if it... _he_... had never been missing at all.

Yes, the skeleton hadn't forgotten- it was impossible. Even after all the pain he'd endured, Sans still yearned for his father.

The syllables became slower, his vision clearer.

A torn, tan couch. Worn, thin, green sheets...

Steady claws holding shaking bones.

"S-sans...? A-are you, a-alright, kiddo?" Shy words crept through the static.

Confused, blank eye sockets met with soft, familiar black eyes behind light-glared lenses.

"M...Mom'a Alphys?" Sans choked out, flames completely flickering out now; soul fading to a dim light before disappearing against his chest.

"Y-yes, it's me, k-kiddo. I'm right h-here… You s-sleeping poorly again?" The reptile questioned knowingly.

An age-old routine. Alphys knew a lot, she'd kind of been Sans's counselor as a kid... not to mention being his adoptive mother; along with her partner, Undyne.

He'd always always been extremely close to her, though secrets still remain where they must. Nightmares rested in the cracks of his skull and simple answers travelled between his teeth- never true lies, but never full truths.

"Y'eh... y'know, same 's alw'ehs." He grunted, wiping away the tears from his face- words more broken than normal.

"Y-you were th-thinking about your father again, w-weren't you? I h-heard his name before you woke up…" Alphys replied, her eyes concerned- the normal stutter in her voice giving Sans something to hold onto.

"Wh...what? Tha' ol' numbskull?" A gruff growl escaped from his teeth- a light chuckle following- "Nah. Jus' a little disoriented after-" He stopped.

What had happened? Eyes turning away from his mother and glancing wildly over the dirty wooden floors, cracked windows, peeling wallpaper… why was he at home?

 _Ambush… Papyrus… Royal Guard._

Bits and pieces of broken pictures floated tauntingly, threatening to disappear, just barely able to hold on. _Bright flames flickering. Panic searing through a cracked soul._ _ **Dust.**_

"A-after you p-passed out?" Mama Alph finally spoke up.

Images shattered; a weary skeleton put attention on the caring reptile.

"I passed out?"

"Y-yeah, kiddo. P-Papyrus carried you b-back here and c-c-called me. You don't remember what happened bef-fore that?"

"I r'member bein' at Grillby's. . . one o' the guards fell down. _Bit the dust_ , so to speak." He explained, gaining an _are you serious right now?!_ look from Alphys at the pun.

"Sh'addup, I've been holdin' that one back! Anyways, I rememb'r goin' 'ta check on Paps, worried ov'r him possibly bein' hurt from th' ambush. Undyne met with us. Then I woke up here." He finished.

Details of the dreams remained unspoken. Ruling off the memory loss as shock-induced, general topics resumed with ease- accompanied by occasional reassurements from Sans. Troubled gazes met with darkened eye sockets often enough, reinforcements weren't needed; _ignorance_ is bliss, after all.

In-fact, they were the _last_ thing anyone would be needing in already anxious times. Being unable to differentiate dust from snow, blood mingling with rusty iron- there wasn't room for shattering bones.

Even if there were, it'd be too dangerous for anyone's time to occupy.

 _Tch, tch, tch. . . ._

"A-Are you cold?"

The question caught him off-guard. "Yeah, uh, where's my-" Before he could even get halfway through the question, darkness consumed already fuzzy vision before color popped back into view.

Soft warmth encased harsh shivers.

Finally realizing Alphys had put his pull-over hoodie on for him, Sans laughed.

"Y'know, Mom'a Alph, I can dress myself jus' fine now. I ain't a baby bones anymore." He teased, sticking his arms through the sleeves and nestling into the cozy fur bordering the hood around his skull.

She snickered, "Y-you'll always b-be a baby b-bones to me."

Her sharp, yet gentle, claws lightly scraped against his cheekbone, caressing the side of his face for a moment before playfully ruffling his hood- the fur poofing out everywhere.

"Heh, thanks, Mom'a." Sans smiled, but there was a falter in his tone that the monster tried so diligently to hide.

Sweet smells and sounds filled his senses, mingling with a strict yet comforting presence that grew fainter each time it was brought back to mind.

But, it was still there. Somewhere. Hope was prominent that it resided somewhere more than just a dream; existence evident outside of fantasy.

Unlikely as it may seem… hope is hope.

So long as Sans held onto that, there was a chance.  
 _Gaster._

 _A new day_.

Short, simple, and sweet. Sans scratched this phrase into his journal- handwriting messy and lazy.

It was a phrase he heard Papyrus use a lot (and, given the whole ordeal from a day before, it simply seemed appropriate.) His brother was the more optimistic of the two, and never let a day go to waste. Constantly productive; whether he was cooking, cleaning, training, or simply taking a walk with a crossword puzzle in hand. Paps never got bored.

Sans looked up to his little sibling for that attitude; not to mention him simply being cool all on his own. The admiration balanced out the temptation of jealousy.

Many of Papyrus's quotes, and occasional doodles of his face appeared in Sans's notebook- on his happier days, at least. They weren't great doodles, the artist being too lazy to refine and detail them; usually Paps ended up being an oval head with two black dots for eyes, a heart for his nose hole, and a boxy smile- crooked lines jutting from his jaw as the neck.

Today, the shorter skeleton's drawings weren't so happy.

Senseless, black voids of scribbles and mess covered the edges of a page, occasional white ovals left as nightmare-ish eyes. Human-looking, unsteady silhouettes loomed above a cowering, stick figure image of Sans; his discerning features being the curved lines for a hood around his circle head and two ovals for his glasses.

As childish as they may have been, they were still unsettling. But, an outlet is what it is; and if simple writing and drawing kept anyone from getting hurt, then it was best to just _roll with the pencils._

Upon that thought, Sans pushed an extra pencil he had and it rolled off the edge of his desk.

 _Heh… good one._ Into the journal it went, next to a scrawling of a tall, familiar figure with two gaping gashes down either side of their face…

The suffering given for that once-gentle face was neither worthy to be given contempt nor was it forgivable. Pushing, laughing, taunting over the has-been; the failure. Relying on compassionate fire to defend against those who simply didn't understand.

Electric shockwaves sent through formerly warm blood, a pill every three weeks. Thrashing, tossing, silent screaming- nowhere to go. Emotionless expressions that never spoke, yet told all, studying the reactions and tiring youth down to its last thread; forced to the edge of the cliff, sent spiraling down with **no** _ **warning**_ **.**

He'd only wanted to help. That's all he'd _ever_ _ **wanted to do.**_ But was the price worth it? Worth watching a fragile soul being torn apart and put back together… over, and over, and over, AND OVER-

 _CRASH!_

Back to reality.

Wood skids against carpet, four legs failing to get their owner very far before stumbling and dropping heavily to the floor.

Sans found himself flat on his back, staring in a dazed frustration up at the ceiling.

"Brother? Are you alright in there?!" Papyrus's voice came from the hallway.

"Y'eh, Paps," Sans called, "just a lil' _floored_ at th' moment."

". . . Why do I feel as if that was a pun?"

"Because… you know me?"

A heavy, annoyed groan sounded out, followed by a quiet; "Why must you do these things, Sans…?" Before the younger skele could be heard retreating down the stairs.

Sans was originally just going to lay on the comfortable carpet for a while longer, but then he heard a quiet "Oh!" from the door, as if something had been forgotten.

"I forgot to tell you!" Paps exclaimed, "You have a visitor- which is why I originally was heading upstairs. A young monster child named Tilly asked to see you!"

The older skele had never sat up so fast in his life- which ultimately caused him to fall back down upon receiving a head rush.

"Tilly? What is she- I mean… he? Er, what're _they_ here f'r?" Sans responded, blinking his vision clear before getting up again- slowly this time. He couldn't remember Tilly's gender for the life of him.

"She wouldn't say. Only kept repeating; 'I must see Mr. Hoodie!' Over and over."

Now, that, he had to laugh at.

" _Mr. Hoodie?_ " The skeleton sniggered.

"Yep! That's what she said!" Papyrus replied, laughter in his own voice.

Walking over, Sans finally opened the door and stepped out; "Alright, Mr. Hoodie's on the way." He stated, an amused grin on his face.

Pink, fuzzy bunnies hardly had the time to hit the first step before a quick, small blur rushed by and sent the slippers as well as their possessor flailing through the air, crazy giggling erupting from the assailant.

"What th' Hell?" Sans grumbled, looking up at whatever weight was now pinning him to the floor and using his rib cage as a trampoline.

"MR. HOODIE, MR. HOODIE, MR. HOODIE!" An ecstatic shout rang from the bouncy, white blur, "I GOT YOU, MR. HOODIE!"

"Heh, guess- _hnf-_ y'did, Til. R'ally _knocked me off my feet_ there, kid."

Finally, after about a solid minute of happy "yays" and "whoopees," and lots of questioning from Papyrus, Til quit bouncing and just sat on Sans's sternum, looking at him with dark eyes. It's just then that the skeleton noticed how no other features on Tilly's face besides their eyes were visible behind the fur, and found himself wondering if they even _had_ a mouth or nose…

"Mr. Hoodie! Can we watch a movie?" Tilly asked, looking longingly at the T.V. and still practically shaking with energy.

"A movie night? That sounds like a nice idea! I don't have Guard time tonight, so I'd be happy to join." Papyrus chimed in.

Sans laughed, deciding not to even question why the little monster was seemed to be a big explorer around town from what he could tell, and assumed the child was just bored. Plus, he couldn't complain; movie nights were always enjoyable, and now he had an excuse to keep Paps from even running errands today. What a perfect plan!

"Sure, kid. What'cha wanna watch?"

He could use the company.


	5. Chapter 5

**5ive here! Another chapter from me for this! I personally like this chapter ^^' idk it was a little more lighthearted for what I usually write and I really like it...**

 **MORE NEXT WEDNESDAY!**

It was nice having his brother home for the day. No chance of anything bad happening with him inside. At least nothing catastrophic. The worst that happened was when he ended up burning the spaghetti he planned to make. Tilly had wanted to help and he got so distracted with the little fuzz ball that he'd forgotten about the hot pot on the stove. Those noodles never stood a chance.

Once the movie was over Tilly still wanted to hang out and Sans couldn't say no to that mound of white fluff and those little spots for eyes – dang it this kid was adorable.

Tilly wore themselves out and eventually fell asleep on the couch, on Papyrus's lap. The taller skele was so overcome with the joy of being a good monster sitter that he couldn't bring himself to move and risk waking it up. Sans understood, sat with him and turned on the TV. They didn't get much on there – no real shows other than the news – but it was nice having something to drown out their minds from what was happening outside the walls of their safe haven.

Not much on the news either.

Normal.

Actually it was more of a talk show. Random members of the Royal Guard would go on and talk about how they're training to keep everyone safe and are always accepting new members. Sometimes they'd mention any human attacks that they've handled and talk about their own bravery or that of any other members they looked up to. Many talked about Undyne. Today, they were talking about the incident from that morning.

Two members of the guard sat on screen with the typical reporter – Keenith – and were in the middle of sharing what they remembered.

"It was out of nowhere! Undyne was training us like she does every couple days when suddenly, like, ten humans were there with guns!" The female guard, a cat girl with white fur, was shaking from the memory.

The other, a lizard boy, chimed in, "It was so scary. Most of us froze, but Undyne and one of the other trainees, Papyrus, didn't. That skeleton saved my soul." He gave a shiver as well, fists pressed against his legs.

"Saved your soul?" Keenith pressed. "How so?"

"When I froze up, one human tried to shoot me. Papyrus pushed me out of the way and took the bullet." The lizard pointed to his jaw. "Right here." Then he smiled. "Now he's got a crack there and he was so proud of it."

Keenith laughed. "Wow! Sounds like a real hero!"

Sans felt a knot twist in his chest. That crack was still there on his brother's jaw and all it reminded him was of the splintering cracks still present on his own shoulder. It would never heal completely and from time to time it would bleed. What really was bothering him, however, was that Papyrus's cracks didn't bleed. It didn't even seem to bother him.

He blinked, and then smiled at how much Papyrus's face was glowing. The struggle to contain his excitement was visible. "Cool, so m' bro is a top n'atch hero. I get t' go around 'n brag 'bout it."

The whispering yell from his brother nearly had Sans lose it. "You better be proud, brother! I'm finally in the Royal Guard because of that incident!" Then he fell surprisingly quiet and Sans saw him looking down at him. "Um… I know you aren't comfortable with what I'm doing, but… Sans, I want you to know that I _am_ careful. I'm not reckless all the time – I was only protecting one of my fellow guards."

Sans didn't say anything, just stared at him so he could continue.

"With everything we've been through – _you've_ been through – I would never want to worry you. I want to protect you. I've seen you nearly turn to dust more times than I'd care to remember. One of my first memories is the day that father-" He choked on the rest of the sentence. Neither of them accepted the events on that day.

The shorter skeleton reached a hand out grabbing the other's arm. "I know. Y' don't need t'a bring all tha' up. I get it." Those nightmares were constant with Sans. He doubted Papyrus dreamt about that day once a week like he did. "Ya always look so happy workin' out there with Undyne, even more than ya do in th' kitchen. If ya'd rather _cook_ _up_ some trouble than sit around like me… then y' do that."

Even with that small of a joke in there, Papyrus smiled. "Thank you, brother." Then he looked down at the sleeping monster still in his lap. "Do you think their parents are worried?" he asked.

"Maybe. They're just so _fluffin'_ cute I don't wan'a wake 'em."

Papyrus glared at him but was still smiling. "Fluffing? Really?"

"What? Y' threw me off with all o' tha' mushy stuff." He reached out to pet their soft fur. It was smooth against his bones, silkily gliding across his fingers. "Tilly? Till-meister? Time t'a get up, fuzz bucket."

It wriggled, stood on its two fluffy feet and gave a loud, high-pitched yawn. Then two black dots blinked open. "Mr. Hoodie!" It yelped and hopped over to Sans's lap. They rubbed themself all over his jacket happily.

"Careful, y'er gon'a cute me t' dust." He ruffled up the monster's fur till it was sticking up everywhere and they laughed about it. "It's gettin' late, kid, y' should be headin' home."

"Home! Mima is worry!" Tilly jumped around sounding excited. "I go now! Bye, Mr. Hoodie!" They jumped down and skirted for the door with Papyrus quick to follow, Sans taking up the rear. Opening the door, the little fuzz nearly vanished into the solid white snow. "Bye-bye, Papa! Bye-bye, Mr. Hoodie!"

Sans took a glance at his brother as the kid ran off, smirking as once again Papyrus's face was glowing. "Congrats, bro, y'er a dad. I'd say it's a boy or girl, but I r'ally don' know."

Papyrus was still happy as can be as he returned to the kitchen attempting to re-cook his spaghetti from earlier. "You still hungry, brother?" he asked.

Sans shrugged. "I could eat." He yawned, sitting on the couch to watch his bro work his magic. It was never the best in the world but it was good enough. Actually Papyrus had been getting better with each plate he made. Last time it had been good enough that Sans actually ate till he was full. The look on his bro's face had been worth the food coma.

Feeling a nap coming on, Sans pushed it away easily and got up to join his bro in the kitchen.

Later that night San regretted not taking that nap. It was always like this: too caught up in trying to think nice things that his mind would wander through the good times to the bad and he'd get flashbacks of his dad's experiments, getting shot, the dog attacking Papyrus, Charisma… Nothing good could come of sleeping anymore.

Finally he sat up in a cold sweat, panting. He hadn't had any flashbacks, just waking himself up before one could happen. Seeing her face and watching it morph into what she might look like today only had Sans imagine those dark eyes glaring at him from behind smoking gun shafts. He didn't want to have that nightmare about Charisma hunting him down. Hearing her calling out to him with so much care in that same voice as when they were kids…

He pulled his knees to his ribs, hugging himself. The fear present in him forced his soul to surface hidden inside his chest and glowing extra bright and flickery in the darkness. Blue waves of terror surged through his structure and lit up his shirt. A frozen shiver shook him and Sans pulled his blanket up around him.

Tonight he was _afraid_ of going to sleep, not necessarily his insomnia keeping him up.

With everything that happened today he knew he'd have a nightmare about his bro. That was the very last thing – other than Charisma – he wanted to dream about. Anything happy would always turn dark. He knew it… they never stayed happy.

"Bet if ya were layin' on th'a couch ya'd sleep f'er a week." Tale drifted around the room, floating on nothing. "Ya kn'w, if ya were a lil' taller then maybe you'd get more sleep."

Sans blinked. "Wait, how does that make sense?"

"Y'er s' short ya only need _half_ th'a sleep o' a normal monster."

And that's when Swap showed up, orange eye glittering unamused. "Tale! Stop making fun of him!"

"Wha'? I coul' teach 'im a thing or two 'bout sleepin'. I'm so good at it, I can do it with m' eyes closed."

"TALE! It's not funny!"

"Well, I'll never get tired o' it. And neither will Sans."

"OH MY- STOP!"

"Y'eh, ya better stop b'fore th'a Royal Guards think y'er a monster o' _into-rest_."

"You… You are running out of jokes."

"Eh, it gave me th'a giggles, s' I'll count it along with th'a sheep, but I don' think it'll help anyone sleep."

"Please, they're getting worse… now you're rhyming…"

"I mean Sans is fragile an' all, bu' a lil' sleep won't _hurt_."

"Okay that was just mean."

"Heh, y'eh, maybe tha' one was a lil' _pillow_ -ful."

"OH MY GOD, PLEASE TALE, STOP!"

Completely awake, Sans gave up on sleep and climbed out of bed. Maybe some TV would help him out. Swap thought it was the best idea so he left his room – along with the blasters – and quietly made his way downstairs. Only himself and Papyrus lived in this house that was once Gaster's. Alphys used the laboratory in the basement but other than that she and Undyne had their own place. The two skeletons were old enough to live on their own so they lived in their old home, always have. He tiptoed past Papyrus's room and got downstairs to turn the TV on.

For once there was a show on, an old one. Monsters didn't have time to make shows or movies nowadays with the war so only older ones played once in a while when the news had nothing to give. This one wasn't a good one in particular. Sans was bored enough that he went from lying on his side to slipping off the couch to watch it upside down. Still didn't help it get any better.

"Sans?"

The other twitched, looking up (down?) at Papyrus leaning over the couch. "Oh… 'ey, Pap. I see y'er _up_."

He snuffed off the pun. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

"I couldn't catch any Z's. Too many Y's gettin' in th'a way."

He ignored that last part, coming around the side of the couch to look at the TV. "What are you doing?"

" _Hangin'_ around."

"Seriously."

He wasn't having it. "I can't sleep, 'kay? Watchin' some TV. I'm not allowed 'ta be a bat?"

Papyrus sighed. "I thought Mama Alphys was helping you with this."

Sans blinked, falling off the couch and looking up at him. "With wha'?"

"You know what I'm talking about." Papyrus _really_ wasn't having any of this. He was completely serious. But that was weird… No one other than Alphys knew about his insomnia.

"Mama Alph c'n only help s' m'ch, Pap." He crawled back up onto the couch suddenly wanting this movie to be much more interesting than it was. "Can't let a sleepin' dog lie if th'y won't sit first, if y'a get wha' I mean."

"Well then if you won't talk to her about it," Papyrus plopped down beside him, arms crossed, "talk to me."

Wait, what? " _Talk_ t'ya? I can't sleep. Wha' is there t'a talk 'bout."

The other stared at him for a long while not saying anything. Finally, he sighed. "I'm not as clueless as you think, Sans."

"I n'ver said y' were-"

"Then why won't you talk to me? If all of it's troubling you this badly then you need to tell someone about them. It's not normal to have nightmares every night." Seeing the shock rise on Sans's face, he smiled sadly. "The walls are thin, brother. I hear you calling for father often."

Sans tore his vision away, sockets focused on the ground. "Ya know."

"Of course I do. And whatever Mama Alphys is doing isn't-"

"She doesn't know."

Papyrus was quiet a moment. "What?"

"Mama Alphys thinks I only 'ave insomnia. She doesn' know 'bout m' nightmares." His hand came up to rest on his skull. "I didn't think any'ne knew."

"It's hard to ignore when you scream in your sleep. Or when I check on you and you're crying." Sans didn't look his way. "I've always heard not to wake anyone from a nightmare, so I would sit with you and try to make it better. I don't think I ever succeeded."

Sans finally let his vision drift back over to his younger brother. "Y'd sit with me?"

He nodded. "All the time. I thought if I was there to help then you'd feel better and stop being sad. You act like nothing happened when you wake up. I always thought you never remembered your dreams, but lately they seem to be affecting you more." Papyrus rested a hand on his. "What do you dream about?"

Unsure of what to say, he said the truth: "Th' past. When we were a family. Back when…" Sans unconsciously grabbed his shoulder. _I was shot_. His expression saddened when he thought, again, about the dog that had tried to dust his brother. As if to mock him, Sans noticed the indents and small cracks in Papyrus's hand from then. "Back when things tried t'a be nice, but…"

Neither spoke or moved. It was an awkward feeling that hung in the air. Sans wanted to be comforted but at the same time wanted to just forget it all and joke around. Papyrus was wanting to hug the other but wouldn't for some reason.

"Know that I'm here, brother," Papyrus finally said. "I'm not going to let anything else bad happen to you."

He shook his head. "T' _us_. If y'er not included in that deal then shuffle th' deck 'cuz I'm out."

Papyrus smiled again, full happiness. "Of course! The Great Papyrus wouldn't dream of leaving his older brother behind!"

"Good, now ya got'a stop talkin' in first person, bro," Sans snickered.

"Not going to happen, brother! The Great Papyrus must always mention his own name or else no one will remember him!"

"Pap!" Sans laughed harder. "Come on, bro!"

"Nyeh! Papyrus has found what bothers his brother! This is a great day! Or night. Night works too!" He pulled the other in for a playful hug.

"Oh God, Pap, you're killin' me! I can't even think o' a comeback!"

"The great Papyrus has bested you! Give up or face his wrath!"

"Okay, okay! I give!"

"Another victory for Papyrus!"

Sans just smiled and let his brother win. As long as he was happy then he'd be too.


	6. Chapter 6

**HOLY SHIT I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T PUT CHAPTER 6!**

 **I'm SO sorry guys... I've already got Ch. 7 in here and I'm posting BOTH today**

Sitting.

A refreshingly cold breeze sent a shiver down Sans's spine, making him nestle further into his jacket. Papyrus had gone off earlier in the morning to run a few errands while Sans just decided to stay home, staring at the sky as fragile snowflakes drifted slowly to the ground. They swayed in the wind somehow all landing everywhere but the space he occupied.

Snow was so peaceful, so surreal. One could almost forget about the raging wars and evil that plagued the earth- simply by staring into this white wonderland. The glittering white able to hold its beauty even when surrounded by the screams of the dammed. Such pleasantries brought back recollections of a bright-eyed girl who held tightly to a piece of the skeleton's soul; despite having become a dream in his mind's eye. The longing for the sound of her laughter and gentle expression was so conspicuous it was nearly unbearable!

Yet, there was no way he would see her again. Though the hope tried to last, clinging to life with gasping breaths, this wouldn't change the fact that it was dying with every second he remembered her.

After all, who's to say Charisma is even alive anymore- given the merciless war between her kind and his?

No… No, that's not right.

Sans sat up.

"She's fine! She… she has t'a be fine! How could I think o' somethin' so awful?" He chided himself, words slurring in anger, he covered his eye sockets and shook his skull in frustration at that Hell of a thought.

Lying back down, Sans let his mind wander again- but paying less attention to the things he thought about, trying to ignore them.

Guess my train of thought got a little bit off track for a moment there.

". . . Dammit." He muttered, chuckling, "That one was unintended."

"Bro, y'er losin' ya mind. Don' go loco-motive on me, now!" Tale chimed in, flickering by for just a second before disappearing again.

"TALE!" Swap cried out; the two could be seen flickering in and out from time to time, the orange-eyed skeleton rushing after his blue-eyed twin, who kept teleporting just before Swap got to him.

"A'ight, a'ight, i'll a'mit, tha' one was kind o' a-"

"TALE, NO!"

"Train wreck!"

"AAAAAAAH!" Swap cried in frustration, face-planting the snow and giving up on his chase.

Tale rested beside Sans, laughing so hard he started coughing.

It was amusing watching the two's crazy antics. He felt his once-rapidly beating heart now calm, mind focused on brighter, better things for the moment.

"Y'know, Swap, y'two are rail fun 'ta watch." Sans said with a smirk.

He'd never seen the scarfed skeleton sit up so fast in his life!

"Wha'? Was that not _conducted_ well-enough for ya? Not 'ta _toot_ m' own horn, but there are plenty more where tha' came from!" He continued, watching the orange flame in his blaster's eye socket flicker even brighter with every pun that was made, Tale jumping in every now and then.

Nerves calmed, Sans let out a quiet sigh, his grin growing a little wider as he lie on his back once again- listening as the two kept up their little battle.

Peace made its rare appearance, gently drifting over them. Calm mind, relaxed bones. Absolutely surreal.

A restless soul wanted to stay awake, wanted to keep listening to those soothing voices; mingling with comical laughter and hilarious frustration, but sleep won the fight.

"S-Sans?"

Morning already? Darn.

"H-hey, kiddo? Y-y-you okay?"

Just a little while longer. . . a calm breeze moves in.

". . . SANS!"

Jolting upward, hood falling back behind a thick skull. Her name escaped- the name he tried so damn hard to keep in the depths of his mind.

"S-sorry, I d-didn't mean to st-startle y-you!" Mom'a Alphys stammered out, looking down at her son in worry, she was wrapped up in a thick winter vest over her lab coat, a pom-pom beanie tugged snuggly over her head; "B-but why were you l-lying h-h-here? Out in the c-cold?"

She hadn't heard the cry. Had it even been made? He wasn't sure anymore.

Realizing he was just staring at her- that accursed blue eye dancing in and out of existence; making the world blur- Sans finally spoke up; "Oh! Sorry, Mom'a. I've jus' been chillin' here, while Pap 's out on his erran' run." The dim glow of his only working eye faded. He often wondered how his vision would have been affected if both of his eyes worked. Sucked being half blind.

He shook the thought away looking up to see an amused smile cross her face. "Chilling?" She asked.

"'Ey! Who am I 'ta turn down'a punny opp'rtunity?" The retaliation rewarded him with a short fit of giggles from Mom'a Alph.

"Hehe, oh d-dear. What am I g-going to do with y-you, silly bones? C-come on, let's g-get you s-somewhere warm."

"How 'bout Grillby's?" Sans suggested, getting up and pulling his hood back up, flinching when a huge chunk of the freezing snow poured down over an already shivering skeleton. He gave a startled yelp and began fanning his jacket to get the infernal stuff out.

More laughter emitted from Mom'a Alphys at the sight, and this time he joined her.

"G-g-grillby's sounds good!" She answered between snickers, "Let's h-head out bef-f-fore you b-become a sn-snow poff!" She offered him a warm arm to hold onto and he accepted it, walking with his adoptive mom.

"So, what were ya headin' int'a town for, Mom'a?" They'd been sitting at the bar for a while, watching as Guards and commoners alike would come and go from time to time, some seeking medical attention, others simply seeking shelter where they could.

To many, Grillby's was a place of peace; one of the few locations truly deserving of the term "home." It'd always been that way for Sans. Even before it had become a bar the name Grillby had always been a name of protection.

Flashbacks of a small park just outside of the library he often visited; finding solitude in the fantasy of a world hidden between two walls, each world being unique with every stroke of ink- only to be ripped from his happiness, screamed at and taunted by the village bullies, until a quiet guardian stepped up to the opposing shadows. A light in the dark; his best friend.

He could never thank him enough and that was why he often visited the establishment to help out in any way he could. Unless he was lazy that day then he'd be found snoozing at the bartop.

"I w-was h-h-heading to the l-lab." Alphys spoke up, answering his question, "I h-have some p-p-projects to f-finish up on."

Projects. Experiments.

Bitter words to the skeleton.

"Ah… I see. 'Ey, Grillby, grab me'a bottle, would'ya? Mom'a Alphys and I got'a ketchup for a while."

Slide.

"Thanks."

Everyone was hushed. It'd been a long day for many of the monsters, and they were all weighed down. Despite "long days" having been normal for so long. For many, the days blurred together. Everything was routine: wake up, get your rations for the day, pretend nothing is wrong with the world as you watch your children go off to war, eat your meals, play board games, chit-chat, buy some shitty good luck charms, lay down for the night- but don't sleep until morning. Repeat. Day after day.

How sick they all were of the same thing.

"Ha-have you been d-down to the l-l-lab? I was w-wondering if you'd c-c-come down with m-me, there are s-some th-th-things I'd like you to s-see." His mother spoke quietly, watching her son down half of the ketchup bottle and set it roughly against the wooden bar, hand tightening around it at her words.

Clearing his throat, Sans looked around for a moment before chuckling. "'Ey, I've got'a story f'er ya; it's an old table." He commented, making a sluggish gesture towards the tables throughout the tent.

"Sans…?" Alphys frowned.

"Y'know, this war b'tween humus and mustards 'as been goin' on f'er a long time! I relish in th' thought o' th'a war endin'. But tha' soda thing won't be happenin' anytime soon. Us monsters are startin' to get a bit salty about the whole thing, but I think he can mayonaise to keep it up a little longer." The puns continued rolling out, his eyes diverting to the objects he mentioned as he looked around the restaurant. "Really wish I could say it'll end soon, but I can't beer the thought of everyone hoping for something like that."

Anything to avoid talking about the lab.

Mom'a Alphys wasn't buying it; especially with how downhill his own jokes were going.

"H-hey, Grillby!" Sans called, waving his friend over, "How 'bout a glass o' waitor?"

That got her. The fire elemental was caught off guard by Sans's change in drink request, but- nonetheless- he slid on a some gloves to keep from dousing his own flames, and filled up a glass for the skeleton.

"K-kiddo, do you ha-ave so-omething to tell me?" The question caused an odd expression to flicker across Sans's face- mostly in reaction to Alphys's own smirk. Her brow raised as if she could see something that he wasn't sharing.

"What're ya.. Talkin' about?" He asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth- it clicked, "OH WHA!? M-me and Grill? Mom'a, no! It was just'a pun.. D-don' ruin my jokes!"

Alphys cracked up laughing, Grillby's flames turned bright pink, then began sizzling and popping so frantically with occasional, weird symbols forming so fast Sans couldn't figure out a word the bartender was saying. Whatever the emotions the elemental couldn't handle it and left for the back room for a moment.

Meanwhile, Sans's own face had turned bright blue. "Welp, it's off'ta sweater-ville I go." He grunted, throwing his hood up and yanking the drawstrings so his skull disappeared inside the jacket.

Once Mom'a Alph got over her giggle fit, she said, "S-so, will you t-take a l-look at the la-ab with me?"

Damn, this woman was relentless.

"Mom'a… please, I'd rather stay out'a there. Too many, ah, reminders, y'know?" He stared down at the water in his cup. That had been the place that shaped him into the skele that he was today. That sounded all fine and dandy but in reality it was like revisiting a horror movie that made you pee your bed at night. "It's n'aht th'a cherriest place in th'a world."

"It l-l-looks better since I f-fixed it up. A-and I have somethin' I r-really need 'ta sh-sh-show you. S-something your d-dad made."

"I don' want anythin' 'ta do with that bastard's creations." The words spilled out before Sans even had the chance to think about what he was saying.

Alphys froze.

At some point during their discussion Grillby had returned. His flames flickered violently from the sudden curse not normal of his friend. Grillby crackled, "You know you don't mean that…"

His mother managed to shake off the outburst. "You r-really need to s-see this." Her voice was more urgent now. What could be so important?

"Why-"

"Sans! Would you ju-ust tr-trust me on thi-i-is?"

Gleaming eyes looked him dead in the face. She almost looked desperate.

Sans didn't like that look on his adoptive mother. "...A'ight, Mom'a Alphys. I'll go with ya." Finally giving in, he chugged the last of his ketchup- following up with his cup of water, "But can ya foot th'a bill? I'm broke."

"You-!" Grillby popped, and Sans laughed.

"I'm kiddin', I'm kiddin'! Well… kind'a. I can do half, could ya cover th'a rest on m' tab, Grillz? I promise 'ta pay it after I manage to hit up another job." Like that would ever happen. One day he'd pay if all off but that'd only happen when he could truly get his life together. Even so he placed what he had on the counter in an attempt to appease the other.

As always, Grillby agreed with a hesitant flare and a fist bump.

"Thank ya, bud. I really owe it to ya, heh."

"Yes, you do." The barman sizzled; Sans imagined the monster was smirking.

After a few more jokes and some small talk, Mom'a Alphys decided it was time to go. Helping her off the tall stools, the skeleton led the way out, advancing towards the brothers' house.

The air had gotten surprisingly chillier - if it was possible what with all the snow already everywhere. How could it not be colder than it already was? That aside Sans had to turn his focus back to the house. No getting around it now. Not like trying to force himself to forget the back door just off to the side of the house and jumping in the front door thinking it could protect him from the memories.

The truth was that it couldn't and he wasn't sure exactly what Mama Alphys knew she was dragging him into.

Ignoring the front door - his safety - they walked along the side of the house coming to a solid white door that stuck out too much against the wood siding. No longer shaking claws dug into the pocket of her lab coat and pulled out a small rusted key. It slid in the lock and made a creak as it turned. A noise that made Sans's bones rattle a moment. It had been so long… he'd almost forgotten how scared he was of that sound.

The monster turned to him with a kind smile something meant to be reasuring.

How he wished it was…

Solid white stairs stretched down into a solid black abyss. Jagged teeth threatened to swallow them both, the darkness from down its throat seeming to overwhelm all vision. Nothing could survive in there… at least that's the only thought that crossed his mind as Alphys began to ascend without a moment's thought. Sans reached out to her but stopped as she once again turned to him and he kept up his masking smile.

"Y-You really need ta s-s-see this, Sans," she muttered, a white cloud billowing from her mouth.

Whatever this was was important to her. Sans nodded. "Whatever ya say, MIST-ress."

She understood the joking all too well but turned her back to him anyways trusting the skeleton to follow.

It wasn't too far down but the dark surrounded everything. It was normal. There were no lights until you got to the bottom floor but all the same the darkness didn't help Sans any as it only gave him a front row seat to his memories. The echoing screams of his past self rose up from the depths calling out to him for help… or was it a warning? Telling him and anyone else who dared to continue down this path to do what their instincts said and RUN.

Alphys's voice called out to him. White pinpricks searched frantically for any sign of her. Shadows lashing out with bright, white smiles. A laugh erupted from the visions making the smiles all too real when suddenly one stood out the boldest among them. Two gashes down a still figure's face, electric shocks jolting through Sans's legs and up his ribs- striking through his very soul. The electricity was made real to his eyes giving underlight to the face and spreading more shadows of his past throughout the walls.

A solid white light crashed into him and he could hear his dad calling out to him.

The throbbing beat of his heart, blue waves of agony spreading through the air.

Sharp pain entering his soul and the sudden cold that followed.

Her voice again. This time he saw the reflections in her glasses; he could see what was behind him. STILL behind him. Leaving him there. Back to the darkness, face staring at the only exit and ready to block it off for good. Tendrils of darkness swarmed up from the stairs, climbing the threatening teeth and beckoning him back to the agony that'd once been his home.

Reaching out for help. A life line, a guardian angel, someone or something to grab onto- to run towards! ANYTHING!

Finally, that familiar, soft grasp wrapped around his hand… A mother's touch... but it didn't take him away from the monstrosity, instead he was being drug down. Pulled him closer and closer to what he hated dreaming about. The things that nightmares were made of and what had him fear what he should have been running to for comfort: his father.

"No… no, no NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? DON'T MAKE ME GO DOWN THERE!" Sans cried out desperately, yanking his hand away from his guide and rushing back up to safety. He was in a complete panic, heaving air in and out but not able to catch his breath. "NOT AGAIN! I CAN'T-"

But the figure was there again. It turned to him, static like and out of focus. A garbled, low laugh echoing out- as if not attached to the body it came from. A menacing noise but with a soft face… eyes fatherly… worried… caring…

"Please, dad… I don' wan' 'ta go back."

CRACK!


	7. Chapter 7

**5ive here!**

 **Really sorry again. I'll be better in the future ^^**

Almost immediately Sans could feel himself falling into a worse stage of panic, frantically gripping for anything that could help him get up those stairs faster before the vision of his father could close the door on him. He fought against the steps that seemed to slip from under him and the railing he couldn't get his fingers to find a good grip on. What felt like minutes had only been a moment of struggle before a hand found his shoulder, jerking him back and there was a sharp noise of metal. A familiar cold swallowed his soul and suddenly he was okay.

Sans felt at his chest for his cracking soul but found it glowing dimly with a single fading hole in the center. Looking at Alphys questioningly, she smiled and motioned for him to follow her. A sense of bravery in himself had him nod and the two monsters found their way into the dark lab.

Some tiny clicks and several lights came on. Only the lab ran on electricity - something Gaster had come to master from his observations of the humans - because it would have made the village too bright at night and noticeable. It was blinding at first but Sans quickly adjusted to it and followed the yellow lizard across the room to one of the back areas. Several machines lay scattered on the counters and wires jutted out from drawers and cupboards. A few of them Sans remembered from when his father was alive - here. His dad was alive and he just knew it - but he still had no idea what they did. They passed one machine latched to the floor with bolts, jutting out with a pivoting platform to stand on behind the control computer. It was the ray used on Sans as a kid.

He shivered, averting his gaze. "Can we hurry up, Mama?"

She nodded without a word, opening a cupboard and letting him see what was inside.

It was full to the brim with vials. A black substance lay within them all. Nothing about them was unique from the others. Just a black liquid. Alphys added something to the cupboard as he was about to ask what it all was: a syring. A similar vial was attached to the screw-on needle but it was empty.

"I don't see your point," he joked, being serious at the same time.

Alphys pulled out a full vial. "This doesn't ring any bells?"

"Uh… Black goop in a tube. Fond childhood memories." He crossed his arms.

"I don't know why I asked… Of course you wouldn't remember this. He never told you."

"He?"

"Your dad. Gaster." She turned the vial in her hand, the liquid somehow precious to her. "He had me help him make this. For you."

"For me? Best birthday gift ever I guess."

"Let me finish," she scolded, pushing her glasses up in frustration. "Take a look at your soul."

At the mention of it the shivering blue heart surfaced once more. It sputtered a small beat before settling and retaining its steady glimmer. Within it the small veins of dark blues and blacks swam nearly concealing that tiny fleck of red at the very center. Remembering how pure it had once been, the almost white glow it had given off, made it hard to even look.

"You see those awful black things? Well that's this. It's what's keeping your soul from breaking." Alphys handed him the vial then when he looked up suddenly. "Your dad did care, Sans. He loved you. He worried about you. That machine he had used on you sucked out the little determination your soul carried and it made you unstable. He didn't know it would have that kind of effect on a monster… so he had to create determination that could be inserted into your soul. It took him a long time but he perfected it."

"If it took the old bag of bones so long then how did he stop it from breaking the first time?"

The other shifted uncomfortably. "He… couldn't put back what was destroyed so… he had to borrow some. It was an emergency. He used his own determination to save you. He extracted it from his own soul and gave it to you… but since his was much stronger than yours it blinded you in your right eye."

Sans grew silent. _He gave me… his determination?_ It was unheard of for monsters to have determination… well at least not a LOT of it. Undyne was an exception. She was one determined fish and that's why she was head of the guard. But himself? Was that why he passed out so often? Was he naturally determined and his soul lacked it so couldn't handle it?

He was no scientist so he couldn't say and from the looks of it Alphys knew as much as he did.

"Dad really cared."

"Yes. He loved you, Sans."

Sans handed the vial back to her. "Thanks. I needed this." When nothing else was said he asked, "Was this all?"

She nodded. "I just thought you should know."

He offered up a real smile. For once the lab was back to feeling like a place of work and not torment. A weight lifted off his shoulders. The burden of his memories didn't seem as bad now. Sure it was still his dad's fault and he knew the skele had been sorry, but now he truly knew he was sorry for what he'd done and he'd tried to fix it. That was all he'd needed.

Turning his back to his adopted mom, Sans left. He made his way up the stairs and back outside. Just as he was back in the white world again, he noticed his brother returning from whatever he'd gone out to do. From the bags he carried it seemed like shopping. Sans rounded the side of the house meeting up with his brother at the door.

"Sans! How was your… day…? Are you alright?"

He felt the tear rolling down his cheekbone and he ignored it. "I'm great. Better than I've felt in years." No jokes. Just sincerity.

Papyrus stared a moment before smiling wide. "I'm glad to hear it, brother. Come! I've bought many things! You can help me put them away."

"Sounds good, bro."

"Sans! Those bags go over there! Not by the sink!"

"Sorry, Paps. Th's is jus'a lil' more _baggage_ than I can _handle."_ The response rang through the kitchen, followed by a low, rumbling laugh and the crinkling of a plastic grocery bag hanging around the speaker's arm.

"Brother, I will harm you!" Papyrus exclaimed, "That one wasn't even clever!"

"Ah, c'mon! Y'er smilin'."

"And you _know_ I hate it."

More teasing, more laughter. Everything was… _normal_. That familiar _normal_ from so many innocent years ago. It was the sweetest feeling of nostalgia Sans had ever had. Like clean, clear air after a rainstorm; so new and fresh yet far from foreign. There was a tinge of sadness drifting around upon fallen leaves, but it hardly compared to the peace in his soul.

 _ **Knock, knock!**_

A quiet rapping at the door caused the brothers to stop in their tracks.

"Sans, would you please go get the door? I'll finish the groceries myself." Papyrus requested, turning on his heel and opening the tall pantry in the corner.

"Aye, aye, Pap." The older brother chimed out, placing the last few cans his bag held on the counter.

Slippers tapping quietly against the hard floors as they threatened to slide off of his feet- but snapped quickly back to attention- Sans stopped at the door and turned the knob, cracking it open just enough to make himself visible. He was caught off guard by a quick breeze rushing passed him, pushing him slightly away from the door, and into the house.

"Hn-!? Who's th're?" The skele inquired, countenance going from that of contentment to one of wonder.

He looked around but didn't see anything except for busy townsfolk crunching through the snow; some gathering rations, others simply browsing to distract themselves. But no one found it a part of their schedule to stop at the skeletons' house. So… who had been at the door?

"Oh, if it isn't little Tilly! And you brought a friend, what a fantastic surprise!" Papyrus suddenly called out, and Sans heard the familiar giggles and quick-paced speech of a certain fluffball.

"Papa, Papa! Til hit door with head!" A proud voice cried out.

"Goodness! Is your cranium alright, small child?"

"Yup-yup! Made Mr. Hoodie open door!"

Closing the door and shuffling back over to the kitchen entrance, the shorter skeleton looked on in amusement and slight bewilderment. Sure enough, little Tilly was bouncing up and down in front of Paps, speaking rapidly as they went in circles around another kid.

The new monster was about a foot taller than Til and resembled something along the lines of a lizard. He was armless- just like his companion- with spikes running down his forehead and over his tail. His clothing consisted of a faded, pink scarf (that Sans assumed was red at some point) and a brown potato sack with a hole cut out on the top for his head; his skin took on a yellow tone, which translated into his dull, copper spikes- giving them a golden gleam from the reflection- and he had speckles on the right side of the face, just above and below his eye.

They were a cute duo, but Sans found himself wondering…. _How the hell did they get into the house?_ Were _they_ the breeze he felt whisk by? Quick little buggers.

"'Ey, kid. Who's y'er friend?" He asked, finally stepping completely over the threshold.

Tilly finally stopped moving, their head- which was basically their whole body- turned quickly to look in Sans's direction. Squealing with excitement, they kicked their feet up real fast and rushed forward, barreling towards him. The skeleton yelped in surprise, jumping up so the blur of white darted under him, skidded to a stop upon nearly smacking the wall behind them, wheeled around, and jumped straight into his hood!

It happened so fast, Sans couldn't even react, and just sat there listening to Tilly happily squeaking "Mr. Hoodie, Mr. Hoodie, Mr. Hoodie!" Over and over as they wriggled around.

Papyrus gaped at them for a moment before he cracked up laughing, having to sit on a dining chair so he wouldn't fall over. The other monster child was watching the whole ordeal with a crooked smile, as if all of this was entirely normal- more than likely due to being immune to Tilly's erratic behavior.

Sans stood there, frozen, before finally falling over on his side- making sure to support himself as he went so Tilly wouldn't get hurt. Papyrus started to get up, but saw his brother's amused smirk, so the taller skele just shook his head with a snicker and returned to the groceries, asking their newer guest to help while the other two attended to their shenanigans.

The little monster hopped out of his hood and onto his shoulder, black eyes studying his face with concern. "Uhhh, Mr. Hoodie?" They called, poking his face with their foot.

"N'up. Mist'ah Hoodie is gone. Poof. Vanish'd, no more." Sans replied dramatically, flopping onto his back and looking at Tilly with feigned sadness as they slid off his shoulder and onto the floor.

"Nooo!" She whined, "You liar! Mr. Hoodie righ' heeere!"

"Nuh-uh. He's been vanquish'd by th'a amazin' Til-Meister! Oh nooo, I can see th' light!" He threw his hand up towards the ceiling, using his other arm to cover his eyes while crying out; "Boo-hoo!"

"St'ahp teasing me!" Tilly giggled, jumping around Sans- their antennae creating dark, green electric sparks... That was new- "You's fine!"

Sans laughed, "But how d'ya know?!

"Because Tilly know everyt'ing!" The child chirped, standing up proudly- the sparks flickering light blue. The colors of their electricity seemed to coordinate with their mood.

"Heh-heh, well I guess I can't argue with tha' logic!" Hopping up to his feet and scooping Tilly in his arms, spinning around, the skeleton cackled while the fluff in his arms squealed with laughter; "Mist'ah Hoodie lives!"

After having their fun, Sans put the little munchkin down. She hopped around in circles for a moment, shouting "Fun, fun, fun!" Before bounding over to her friend to see what he and Papyrus were doing.

Finally picking up on the warmth in the kitchen and the head-spinning, delightful smell of fresh cookies being baked, Sans thought it'd be a good idea to lend a hand as well.

Hobbling over to the trio, his eyes felt heavy. He hadn't been so relaxed in a long time, and the adorable sight before him made it all more wonderful. The kids were sitting up on a counter, happily finishing off the leftover dough from the whisks that'd been used to stir. . . it was a weird sight considering Tilly's mouth wasn't visible, but a small, yellow tongue flicked out from her fur every now and then to eat the sweets… Sans decided not to question it.  
The air was slightly weighed down by the scent of desserts, Papyrus was resting at the dining table again- a sure fire sign that he was relaxed, given how he's almost never off his feet- everything just seemed _right._

Leaning against the sink beside him, Sans's eyes drifted over to the new reptilian member of the crew. "So, Monst'ah Kid," He began, not knowing what nickname to use since the kid hadn't been properly introduced in all the excitement, "y'ain't been able 'ta _bake_ a first impressi'n. Where ya from? Haven't seen'a around before."

Realizing he was being addressed, the reptile looked up. His eyes were a bright green with flecks of yellow, and the area around his pupil was pure white- they gleamed like gems. He snickered at Sans's pun before responding; "Oh, uh, my family and I live in one of those watchtower things. My dad's an archer. So we're more on the outskirts of the village." Monster Kid spoke up, swinging his feet slightly as he talked. The boy seemed a little older than Tilly with the way he spoke. Not by much, maybe a year at most, but enough to make a difference. Or, perhaps he'd simply been more educated in terms of language.

"Watch tower.. archer?" Pap piped in, "Oh! Are you Delta's boy?"

M.K. nodded, giving that same lopsided smile from earlier; "Yeah! He's the Head Arrow...plaster? Pastor? No, um... _master_? Yeah! Head Arrowmaster. That sounds right. Whatever, heh, I always forget the name. I wanted to learn how to shoot like him- especially cause of the _awesome_ bows they get to have, and the enchanted arrows are so cool! But… unless there's a bow you can shoot with your legs, I'm kind'a stuck."

"So...y'er dad has arms, but you don't?" Sans asked, earning a glare from Papyrus. "What? I'm curious!" He defended.

"It's okay, most monsters get confused by that. I don't have arms cause my mom'a didn't- at least that's what I was told. I've never met her, though, so I 'unno." Monster Kid replied, shrugging off the bluntness of the question.

"Huh. Gee, the right 'ta _bear arms_ mus' be real useless 'ta you guys then, huh?" Sans responded, having to muffle his laughter in the fur of his hoodie.

"SANS, OH MY GOD, YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!" His brother screeched out in shock.

Monster Kid didn't mind one bit, in-fact he and Tilly both cracked up laughing. "Mr. Hoodie funny!" Til giggled, hopping off the counter; their wooden spoon came tumbling down behind them, which they kicked over to Sans to put away in the sink.

"Tilly''s right! You _are_ funny. Ha-ha! Haven't heard that one before." The child beamed.

"See, Paps?" The hooded skeleton remarked in a cocky manner, "Just 'cause th'a kid can't, doesn' mean ya have'ta get all _up in arms_ about it!"

Sans joined in on the kids' chuckle fest while Papyrus buried his face in his hands, absolutely fuming. "What am I going to do with you, Sans?"

The slippered skele shrugged, shaking his head, "No clue, broth'a. I'm just too _**sans**_ _ational_ to handle!"

With that joke, Papyrus threw his hands up in frustration- though it was obvious he was holding back his laughter; that old joke always got him- and started to head out the kitchen. Only, he froze in his tracks upon the sudden smell of smoke floating through the kitchen. Wheeling back around, the tall skeleton hurried quickly over to the oven, crying out as he pulled out a pan of Chocolate Chip cookies- on the top- a dark, charred black around the edges fading inward to a dark brown with the slightest ring of golden brown in the center. Picking up one, it was seen that the bottom was completely burnt.

"Oh dear…" He mumbled, setting the tray down to cool, "Perhaps they- well… maybe they aren't _too_ bad?"

Sans flinched, seeing that disappointed look on his brother's face. Tilly and Monster Kid looked concerned- although the latter seemed more discomforted over the dessert possibly being ruined, while the former was actually concerned over Papyrus's sadness.

"Papa! Tilly eat cookie!" Til chirped, hopping up slightly- they were eager to help Pap feel better.

Hesitantly, he picked a cookie off the plate and handed it to Tilly. They took a bite… somehow… the mouth still wasn't discernable, but it was obvious they had one covered by the fur.  
Munching for a moment, grey sparks flickered through the small antennae on their head, followed by two, confused black eyes knitting upward, and soon accompanied by two yellow sparks, and the little monster began running around Papyrus's feet in excitement- to his surprise.

"Ya like 'em, kiddo?" Sans asked.

"Tilly like! Cookie is good!" Was the response as their gleeful run continued, with a few skips here and there at random intervals. Monster Kid soon followed the leader, jumping up and snatching a cookie from the plate on the counter before they both went on to parade in a circle on the floor.

Soon, seeing the sweets weren't entirely destroyed, the skeleton brothers shrugged and went along with the children, marching just behind them in a happy little train.

The day continued on with this same level of delight and joy; the group decided on playing board games- resulting in lots of competition, an over-enthusiastic air assault of game pieces due to a certain, passionate skeleton whom refused to lose in any manner, and plenty of shouting, puns, and giggles.

Feeling tired, a movie was soon decided upon for everyone to watch while they rest, one that was fun and colorful for the kids- and it wasn't long before Tilly was curled up in Sans's jacket, fast asleep. Monster Kid was in between him and Papyrus; resting his head against the tall guard's side, and Papyrus's head was laid back against the couch.

Quiet snores from the three members of the house filled the air, giving the atmosphere a weighted feeling- but it wasn't that of suffocation or restriction… no, it felt… _cozy_. Protected.

As much as Sans was enjoying the long-overdue peace that'd finally washed over his mind, something was still not _right_. Perhaps it was too good to be true- lack of a troubled routine simply causing confusion for an existence long-adapted to chaos.

Or maybe it was something more.

Not wanting to drift away again into turbulence, he picked up Tilly and placed them beside the other two, placing a blanket over them all. The furry critter shifted as they were moved, and their eyes blinked open; scanning the environment sluggishly.

"To-To…?" A mumble escaped, and Sans was confused.

"Who's To-To?" He asked.

"To-Tooo! Toby!" Tilly chirped, antennae glimmering with pink jolts towards Monster Kid.

So that was his proper name; Toby.

Sans smiled, patting their head; "Well, To-To is righ' th'ar with ya, kiddo. I'm headin' 'ta Grillby's, be back soon, a'ight? If ya need to go home, wake Paps up so he doesn' flip out 'bout ya jus' disappearin', ok?"

"Yes, Mr. Hoodie! Til be good, tell Papa if leaving." The monster responded, before disappearing under the blanket and curling up into a ball- back to snoozing away shortly after.

 _What a goofball_. Sans thought, grin widening further as he turned and went to switch out his house slippers for his normal, black ones, and tugging his beret over his skull underneath his hood.

Going to Grillby's would help Sans stay positive; besides, he needed to tell the flamehead about everything that'd happened with Mom'a Alphys.

With that goal in mind, the skeleton made sure that old, leather journal was still in its usual pocket before making way out into the biting air, snow swirling drifting like feathers from the clouds- as if they were large birds.

Pencil met with paper as he walked, random doodles of things he saw around him - flowers, trees, the sun glowing a dim silver behind the clouds- there were no darkened scrawls, black figures, vicious voids. That was all gone; only the calm existed now.

It wasn't long before Sans found himself tucking away the journal once more, and he was propped up in his usual stool at the bar, sipping on some ketchup while waiting for Grillbz to finish cooking the orders for one of his regular Guard groups that always sat in the booth closest to the tent opening. But something was different.

In the spot where a very stoic, but seemingly kind, deer used to sit was his helmet and the chain that was always wrapped around his antlers. The rest of the group - which consisted of a panda girl, a reptilian male, and some sort of tall, tree monster- slouched over their beers, picking slowly at a shared order of fries. None of them seemed very hungry.

Sans sighed, leaning his back against the smooth-sanded wood of the bar, and focused his eyes upon the entrance rather than the Royal Guards.

Just as the bartender began walking, er… more-so gliding, back to his post, the tent flaps shifted to the side and Toriel walked in. She slipped off the hood of her cloak. Snow practically evaporated from the tent's heat, leaving her clothes clean and dry.

"'Ey, Tori." Sans called out.

" **Evening, mad'am.** " Grillby popped, standing up a little straighter as he handed Sans some ketchup and placed Toriel's usual thermos of tea.

"Thank you, Grillby!" She chirped, sitting down next to her old friend, "And hello to you, too, Sans. You seem to be getting out more often, that's wonderful! How has your day been going?"

"It's been goin' _v'ry_ well, act'ally. How 'bout y'erself?"

"Oh, you know, same as always. I was just out and about searching for some needles and thread. My last set of needles rusted over." The woman yawned slightly at the end of her sentence, then took a sip of the tea.

" **Have you had any luck finding some?** " Grillby crackled, perking up; " **I have some extra thread and a few needles if you're still in need.** "

"Oh, that'd be fantastic! But I couldn't take them from you. Grill, you do too much!" Toriel refused, waving off his offer.

Sans smirked, knowing his pal hardly ever took "no" for an answer.


	8. Chapter 8

**SORRY AGAIN FOR LATE UPDATE! At least I wasn't a few weeks late :D**

 **Anyway... this is a scarier chapter. Like it's bad. I went to town on this one when I was going back to fix some things... So... yeah... ENJOY!**

In what felt like a blink, Sans was home in bed. He rolled over checking around his room only to find he had been properly tucked in. Sunlight pushed against his blinds and curtains telling him it was the next morning, early from the look of it. With a snicker he threw the sheets aside muttering, "It's too early f'er this _sheet_." His jacket had been folded at the end of his bed and slippers placed neatly on the floor.

Taking a moment to switch out his shirt and jeans before throwing his jacket and bunny slippers on, Sans tried to remember what all had happened the previous night. He'd gone to Grillby's, Toriel had shown up, they were sharing some laughs and a few drinks - Ketchup in his case - but after that… nothing. Pushing the memories didn't help and he quickly gave up.

He didn't feel too cold so didn't bother with a hat, though did stuff it in his pocket for whenever he decided to head outside. Closing the door behind him he headed downstairs spotting Papyrus fixing something in the kitchen. "Mornin' Pap."

"Oh, goodmorning brother. You're up early."

"So… Uh… Wha' happen'd las' night?"

"Hm? Oh! You fell asleep at the bar so I came to get you." Papyrus finished cleaning a dish and set it with the others to dry. "I already ate breakfast and I made extra for you in the fridge."

"You goin' s'mewhere?" Sans crept over to the fridge peeking inside for whatever had been left for him. His search was halted when he didn't hear his brother so he just grabbed for the first thing he could and closed the door. He didn't bother checking what it was before taking a bite out of it. "Sorry, didn't catch that."

The taller skele offered a smile. "I'm heading out to do some training with Undyne and the guards. We're going out to that pretty field of flowers - not the one at the break in the road but the one by the river."

Sans let out a sigh. "Sounds fun. Ya know I like 'ta stay up t'date with all y'er _current_ events."

Papyrus glared at him. "Okay, that was a good one. You get to have that."

"I think it was a lil' _washed up_."

"Sans, please, it's too early-"

"N'up. I alrea'y made tha' joke."

The other stared at him, snickering, and started for the door. "I'll be back later, Sans. Don't burn the house down while I'm away."

"Don' go _sparkin'_ any ideas."

"OH MY GOD, SANS!" Papyrus laughed, waving as he closed the door behind him.

Alone again, Sans picked around in the fridge when he found out all he'd grabbed earlier was an apple. There was a baggie with a few pancakes in it which he grabbed and threw in the toaster. When they popped back up he had finished the apple and thrown it away, picking the seeds out thinking Tilly would want to try growing them or something. There was no real reason for why he did it he just wanted to. Something fun for the kid to do. For now they went into his jacket pocket with his hat.

He left the house in high spirits rushing on over to Grillby's.

The fire elemental was busy cleaning off a table and stopped to greet his friend. " **I take it you slept well?** "

"Like a rock. If I keep this up I'll ge'h too _deep rest_." He got a crackle of laughter so counted that as a win. "Need s'm help?" Sans pointed to the wet cloth Grillbz was using. "You're workin' y'erself _rag-_ id! If ya keep this up you'll _burn_ y'erself ou'!"

" **And you working down to the** _ **bone**_ **is better?** "

"And this 's why you're m'buddy." Sans took over cleaning, letting Grillby get back to taking care of the bar.

It was a slow day at the bar. From the small conversations Sans picked up on it seemed that all of the royal guardsmen had left, or at least a large portion of the much more skilled members had. They left behind the newer members seeing as the area they'd gone to was much closer to the human camps than anyone was comfortable with. And of course Paps would go.

 _Tha's all I need. More worryin' 'bout nothin'. He'll be fine. He always is._ Sans went back to helping out until he was too tired and took his normal seat at the bar. "Mind gettin' me a glass o' wat'r?" It was quickly passed down.

" **So your brother is out training again?** "

"Yep. Along with th'a rest o' 'em."

" **What do you plan to do all day then?** "

"No idea. I was thinkin' o' goin' t'ah see Tilly - some kid tha's been hangin' ou' with me - but I don' know." Sans finished off his water giving the glass to the flames before him. "Got'a do somethin' pr'ductive, am I righ'?"

" **You're always welcome to stay here for the day.** " The glass disappeared behind the counter. " **Or just come back later. Door is open any time for you.** "

"Thanks, Grilbz. I think I'm gon'a go find tha' fuzzball. See what they're up 'ta." Waving to his friend he left the tent, heading into town. "Okay… if I was'a puffball, where woul' I be?" There was no telling where that insane kid was. Probably with Toby but again he didn't know where they'd be. Sans grew up here among other camps but never had a proper childhood. He had no idea where to find a couple of kids running around.

He was about to start on his search when a moving snow poff caught his attention. Smirking, he followed it till it reached the edge of town guarded by someone he'd never seen before. Of course they paid no mind to the slow-moving pile of fluff as it crept past… that is until Toby came running after it and they couldn't keep up with the two. With a heavy sigh, he kept following them.

Tilly and Toby kept on down the path chatting about… Sans had no idea. Actually he was too caught up in watching Tilly stop to… sniff the ground? Were they tracking them!? In his confusion they were suddenly running on ahead. Sans couldn't keep up and resorted to porting after them. He saw them in small flashes of blue and made sure to stay far enough behind that they wouldn't see him.

Finally they reached the break in the road leading to the flower field. Again Tilly stopped to sniff and just before they could disappear on him again, he ported in their path. "Wha're you too doin', _nosin'_ y'er way aroun' here?"

Toby's face paled and Tilly….. Well they were a fluff with two black eyes. All that gave anything away was the small red spark of electricity running up the single curl on their head. It quickly changed to a dark blue as they exclaimed, "Mr. Hoodie!"

"Yeah, yeah, Mist'ah Hoodie foun' you runts ou'. Now ou' with it. Why er y'out here?"

They looked at each other a moment before smiling - Tilly's hair gave more blue sparks. "To watch the guards!" they both yelled.

Sans sighed. "O' course… But it's dangerous ou' here. You can't let y'er _guard_ down." It wasn't too much further to the training, so whatever. He thought Undyne wouldn't mind so escorted them the rest of the way.

And no, Undyne wasn't unhappy at all. She encouraged the children to watch their training hoping that one day they'd want to join as well. Papyrus wasn't too happy, but seeing Sans was there as well cheered him up and let him show off a bit. All in all it was a nice experience. Seeing that the training wasn't as bad as he'd thought really put Sans's soul at rest. At one point Undyne asked if Sans could show the guards the importance of dodging and had him and Papyrus fight. Once everyone wanted to have a go at trying to hit him, Undyne suggested he walk the kids back home and he agreed.

They got back quick enough, Tilly running off with Toby somewhere again. Sans couldn't stop them fast enough to give them the seeds he still had in his pocket. He decided to give them to them later and started for home.

He thought it might be nice to clean up a little for his brother as a 'sorry' for always worrying about him. Climbing the stairs to his room, he began picking things up off the floor including the chair that he'd fallen out of days before. Things were coming along great when Sans jumped from a loud thunk on the wall.

He stared at it, but it didn't happen again so he ignored it.

Taking his laundry downstairs and putting it in a pile by the kitchen, he turned to head back up when he once again heard a thunk.

"Stupid birds." He shrugged it off and got back to his room to finish picking things up.

Another thunk.

"Okay this'z rid'culous." Sans moved to pull the curtains back when the window shattered and in came a bottle. He only had a moment to see the flame at the end of it before it crashed to the floor and the fire spread. Liquid splattered and the fire ate it up. It grabbed a hold of anything it could, taking it and calling it its own.

In a matter of moments his mess of a room had been swallowed with flames. He struggled to get past it all finally just running through the hungry fire. None of it caught onto him so he was free to continue.

In a panic the skeleton nearly fell down the stairs to get out of the house. Smoke had quickly filled the downstairs where another fire was now building in the kitchen. "Dammit-!" He ran into the door in his attempt to open it, throwing the obstacle out of his way and falling into the snow. Outside was even worse than what was burning up behind him.

Monsters were screaming, running from more flames. It was just fire everywhere and no enemy. At least he thought there wasn't. From near the lake came several humans all with guns, knives, pipes… anything deadly.

The first to get into town jammed their knife into the nearest creature they could, slicing clean down their back effectively bursting the creature to dust. Guns fired carving holes in any creatures it came in contact with. Monsters were falling, dust flying, cries for loved ones. A handful of monsters were attempting to fight back but only for the human's advanced weapons to easily take them down.

A shiver ran up his spine as a flickering blue light appeared in his jacket. "H-Hum'ns?! Oh… shit…!" Sans scrambled to his feet and went running for the town entrance. He was stopped by another human, gun raised and pointed at his chest. Or more specifically: his soul. "H-Hey! Whoa there… I don' think I've met ya b'fore." The gun made a loud click. It was ready to shoot. "Heh, still not _trigger_ -in' anythin'."

The joke didn't seem to make a difference, but before the gun could go off a ball of fire slammed into them knocking them over. Another flicker of flames landed on the gun melting the barrel of it.

Sans looked up to who he expected to be there. A wave of relief found him and he accepted the outstretched hand. "Thanks _hot stuff_ ," he joked obviously overwhelmed by everything.

" **We need to get monsters out.** " Grillby pointed toward the market. It was crowded with frightened monsters about to be trapped at any moment by flames. " **You help the kids.** "

"G'aht it. Don' get y'erself kill'd." Sans ran off before he could read what the fire elemental could say back to him.

His first priority was Tilly. Toby too, but Tilly was all he could think about. The snow around the village was melting making it easier to spot them. Unluckily for him humans kept trying to attack him, quickly giving up for an easier target. Finally the butt of a gun cracked against the side of his head knocking him to the ground. Blood dripped down his forehead and over his eye socket. It ran bright red and smooth, dropping past his sight and down into the dirt.

Sans looked up at the human, blood blocking his vision.

The barrel of the gun had turned to him, another loud click sounded.

 _N-No… dammit not like this… I still need 'ta see_ her _ag'in - a-and my brother-! I can't leave him! Where are Swap and Tale?! Why aren't they here helping me?!_ Sans's eye glowed bright blue as bones shot from the ground knocking the human back and away from him. He pulled up a few more to hover around him for protection. "Shit… Tilly! Toby! Where are ya?"

Smoke and dust mingled in the air giving a horrible odor. There was no telling the two substances apart. Like literally walking _through_ a graveyard. An overpowering loneliness overtook him but Sans kept on looking, stopping to help any monsters and point them toward the entrance. There was still no sight of them, and finally Swap and Tale had shown up but weren't very much help. Neither of them spoke…They also weren't in their regular form. Instead they were more like flying skulls, Swap with his orange eye and Tale with two sets of eye sockets glowing dark blue. He knew it was them even with the new, scarier forms.

CRACK

Something had struck his shoulder, digging itself deep into the bone and hitching itself there. Sans grabbed the hilt of the blade and tore it free, holding the cracks left behind. Cloth soaked with more blood… hairline cracks formed on his soul… He ignored whoever had attacked him because he'd just found the kids.

Tilly was caught up in a corner, shivering. Black sparks jolted from their hair and ran down their entire form. In front of them was Toby, shaking as well but not moving. His expression stern he yelled, "I'm not scared of you!"

Sans reached out, expecting that to somehow help but he flinched as one of the humans kicked the monster out of the way. Another attack found him knocking the skeleton to the ground. He let Swap and Tale handle them while he tried to pay attention to the kids.

Toby crashed to the ground, whined a moment before sitting himself up only to be kicked once more. A pipe came down and shot right through his body. Dust sprayed into the air, his tiny yellow soul appearing above him with several dark lines shooting through it. Toby let out a horrified scream that was cut off as another human stepped on his face.

Sans was free of his own attacker and called Swap and Tale to his side, pointed for them to attack, but again he was distracted. This time by a catlike yowl that shot straight through him.

Puffs of white fur littered the smoke and dust filled air. Tilly gave another scream.

 _I… can't… Why won' I…_ He couldn't bring himself to move. Sans was so mesmerized by the nightmare that he just couldn't do anything. He knew he couldn't do anything but watch. Even if he got involved he knew he couldn't do anything.

A large patch of their fur was missing, their skin pink and defenceless underneath. A small pink soul fluttered before them, sparks of black shooting from it and through it. They were still screaming. The humans were getting annoyed. They grabbed them up and began slamming their small body into the ground, but still they cried.

Sans found the strength to move then, raising more bones up. A barrier inside of him was breaking, slowly. He could feel something begging to be set free, something he didn't want. If he didn't save these kids then-

A knife dug into the small soul. Two flashes of pink and yellow. Toby and Tilly vanished in a wisp of dust.

The humans ran on to kill something else like what they'd just done hadn't been enough to end their hunger.

The barrier within him broke.

Something dark set itself pulsing through him.

It burned within him, crawling up into his chest and giving life to his normal light blue took on a dark red tint and a blue light burst from within him. Suddenly Sans could see. He was no longer blind in his right eye. But that wasn't all. The burning continued. It began to hurt. Static surged from his soul and surrounded him until he couldn't handle it and had to scream.

The energy left him forming into something solid. A shadow moving through the air. It completely solidified black with a visible white outline and red eyes. Both eyes were lit. It was twice the size of Swap and Tale with an extra horn at the end of its muzzle.

Sans didn't care who this new entity was, all that he knew was that it and his other two blasters were under his control and ready to end all of this.

He stood no longer the scared skele from a few minutes ago. With both eyes lit it gave him a power that he had once been afraid to control. But now he could end all of this. For all monsters. No… For himself and his brother. And _her_.

He raised his hand and the blaster fired solid red. It tore through the camp and killed both humans and any surviving monsters. _Oh well. They didn't evacuate. Their fault._ Using his other hand he controlled Swap and Tale sending them to chow down on any nearby humans. When Tale decided on a human and threw it to Swap, Sans muttered, "Now now, no playin' with y'er food guys. You wan'ta make room f'er dessert don'cha?" He snapped and both blasters fired at whatever they felt like.

Without thinking, his hand came up and was met with something driving down, the sharp edge digging into his hand. Sans glanced back and smiled at the human female holding the blade. "Heh, **KNIFE** 'ta meet ya." He grabbed the blade and took it from her, turning and lifting his arm sending bones running through her.

Blood sprayed, the woman coughed and choked on a scream.

Sans then went the extra mile and dug her knife into her shoulder. "I'd feel r'ally **BLADE** if I didn' ret'rn this t'ya." He waved to her, the bones retreating and leaving her gasping for air.

Checking on the blasters again he noticed them just going to town on the humans, accidentally hurting monsters in the progress and not caring. He knew he should care but he didn't. And then he realized that he truly didn't care about it. At all. He just wanted the humans dead. So what if a few monsters got in the way?

A nearby human rushed him, pipe ready to strike.

Sans stepped to the side, turned and laid a hand on the man's back. His eyes burned with power and he felt the human shift uneasily. "Don' be scared, hum'n. I've got y'er **BACK**." As he said it he pulled his hand away and watched as skin ripped apart making room for the bones beneath to tear their way out.

The human writhed but he was quickly immobile, falling to the ground in a heap.

Another few humans were on him knowing that he was now the worst of the monsters. They didn't get close as Sans's palm faced them and they were halted. His hand clutched their souls and slowly they began to crumble in on themselves. Bones shattered, crunching and twisting and breaking their screams into garbled sounds.

Sans released them and used the spine he'd pulled from his recent victim to strangle a woman attacking a fellow monster. The vertebra popped with the effort, breaking as they snaked around her throat. She fought them with her knife and fingers, dropping the weapon altogether to claw for air. Once her face was turning red and blue Sans released her. She gasped for breath gaining the spine entrance to rip down her esophagus and out through her stomach. It then turned and jammed itself as far into her eye and through her skull as it could before getting stuck.

He let her dead body flop to the ground in a bloody mass, disgusted in it.

The next human he saw trembled under his gaze, but he grabbed their soul up anyway and threw them to his blasters. All three turned and shot off meeting the human with a blast of white and leaving nothing left.

He then raised his hand again. The blasters stopped.

"How 'bout we change th'a mood?" His hand formed a fist and several humans' souls appeared. "'Ta somethin' a lil' more _upliftin'_." Their souls all turned blue and his fist shot up as did the twenty or so humans he'd grabbed. With his free hand he snapped. "Go ahe'd, boys. Targ't pra'tice."

The next few minutes were nothing but explosions of blue, orange, and red.

The entire sky was lit up with the sound, blood misting into the air and evaporating before hitting the ground.

With the sky clear, Sans looked back to the humans and monsters all staring at him wide eyed.

"Now… who else wants 'ta get **DUNKED** on?"

Footsteps caught him off guard as several monsters with weapons rushed into the village. They all stopped short upon seeing the market and most of the houses burnt down. But once their eyes moved to the blasters and Sans it became a mixture of confused and frightened glances. The Royal Guard.

"Hmm… 'Bout time ya show'd up." Sans still felt an anger in him that wouldn't stop the words from spilling out. "I c'uld 'ave **SWORD** y'were out trainin' inste'd of protectin' us. Left it

to the lazy _bag o' bones_ 'ta take care o' it all." It bubbled up pressing against the back of his teeth. "AND LOOK WHA' GOOD IT DID!"

The black blaster raised up and shot off again followed by Tale and Swap.

"W-Wait I didn' tell ya t'-" Again they shot off. "'Ey! Stop!"

They didn't listen.

And as quickly as he'd seemingly had control of everything through fear, all hell broke loose. Several humans came rushing at him through all the continued fighting. Two of them were plucked and thrown while a few were incinerated by the black blaster. One of them made it through his layers of protection but just as he reached him a long bone burst from his chest spraying blood in Sans's face.

He stumbled back narrowly missing the body falling on him.

Sans looked up, both eyes glowing with fear at his brother. "P-Pap… Oh god…" He pressed a hand to his forehead feeling the cracks from where he'd gotten hit earlier. "I… I 'ave no idea wha' jus'... I…" The blue glow faded but the new blaster and Swap and Tale didn't leave. His soul also returned to its light blue shade.

"It doesn't matter, Sans. You need to get out of here." Papyrus shoved him to his feet.

"Me? Wha' 'bout you!"

"I'm fighting with the other guards. But not until you get out of here." The taller brother moved him through an opening toward the entrance, giving him one more shove. "Go! I'll meet up with you later! You need to protect the monsters that got out!"

He nodded, but took a moment to scan the crowd for Grillby. Luckily he spotted the fire quickly and rushed over to him. "Grillbz! We got'a leave!"

The fire elemental gave him a harsh stare.

"...I'm okay now," Sans reassured and the two ran for the path out to the woods.

It felt wrong. He couldn't just leave like that. Swap, Tale, and that new blaster were still there causing trouble. Even as he reached the entrance to the village he heard another few rounds shoot off. Flashes of orange and blue told him who'd done them.

In his guilt, he turned back.

A human had been right on their tails and didn't stop when Sans had. She slammed into him knocking him to the ground. The human straddled him, weapon raised high and bringing it down on his head.

The blue glow returned and Sans easily threw her off of him. She was flung further than he'd expected, landing on another human.

A loud CRACK broke into his consciousness crashing into his side and sending him rolling into the wall surrounding their village. Blood pooled under him soaking his jacket. His soul pulsed, terrified out in the open. It flickered against his dark green jacket blindingly bright.

He could hear his name being called, faintly, but Papyrus's voice faded away into the back of his head.

A shadow appeared in front of him, human shaped.

Sans looked up at it silently pleading for mercy.

The shadow overtook him, covering his sight and putting an unbearable pressure on his skull. Sans screamed from the pain but didn't hear himself. The sounds of splintering wood and shattering glass filled his mind. The pressure persisted until suddenly it felt like he was falling. The world around him spun backwards. It should have made him sick but instead it was a pleasant feeling.

Before him once again was his soul. It shimmered weakly, so many cracks present that it was impossible to guess the soul had once been blue. Actually from what he could see it was more rainbow than one single color. Something about this soul was different, like it wasn't truly only his. He reached out for it feeling thoughts creeping up on him.

 **MWEH HEH HEH!**

 **boss… no…**

 **dirty brother killer.**

Sans stared into the soul feeling the importance of it. Not just because of the repeating pasts, but for himself. Before he could get all the information he wanted, the entire emptiness turned white.


	9. Chapter 9

**I know it's been a while~ But I forgot to post chapters 9 and 10 on here~ I've been posting them over on mine and Ghost's DeviantArt thought lol and now we're having writer's block!**

Blinding white light faded into a familiar world of dancing shadows performing a time-old ballet with the quiet colors of the room's contents. His vision sluggishly focused in, bringing together darks and lights as though the world was a finely-detailed painting; albeit a boring one, given the fact that Sans's bedroom was simple and dirty. The perplexed skele sat up in a daze. He felt as though there should be panic throughout his skull yet all was calm besides the pounding headache that crashed against an exhausted mind with every movement no matter how small.

Sun blinding him through the crack of the curtains and blinds, clothes folded neatly at the end of his bed. Familiar.

He was hungover, definitely… but the pain was more than that. Grillby's was fresh on his memory- though it felt more like déjà vu than anything. There's something else. It was darker, colder. Remnants of what should have been nothing more than a night terror, but his soul was bothered.

"It's too early f'er this _sheet_." The words rolled out without Sans even thinking about it, pushing his bed covers to the side. He tensed. For the first time in his life a joke was unsettling.

" **'** **Ey th're, kiddo. Ya doin' a'ight?** " Tale huffed, blinking to life in a puff of cobalt colored smoke.

Sans was startled, not merely by his blaster's out-of-the-blue appearance and new looks but also at the sight of the dark clouds from which he had arrived. It sent shivers down the skeleton's spine, followed by images of burning tents the crackling of fire mingling with garbled screams- those of monsters and humans alike. The nightmare was fuzzy, but no fear or anxiety met with Sans's thoughts; only a sense of aching through his bones as though he'd been beaten repeatedly by forces greater than himself.

Curious and self-aware, the monster ran a cold finger over new scars- new bruises which he hadn't remembered acquiring. Slowly moving out of bed, leaning against Tale for assistance, Sans eased through the freezing air that seemed to grow in weight the longer he stood. He shuffled over to the far wall, taking its support over his blaster's and stared ahead at the door.

" **Did'ja 'ear me? Ya a'ight? I kn'w it was'a lot 'ta take in, we made s'me mistakes, bu' it's ov'ah! It's… it's all fine now! Well, kind of.** " Tale spoke up after many moments of not receiving a response. No longer the image of a friend, but a weapon. Just a weapon. That's all Sans could see.

"God, Tale, wha'd we do? I… ah- can't rememb'r. Some nightmare… jus'a nightm're tha' ah can't recall…" He whispered. Over and over he muttered; "Nightmare… got'a be'a nightmare." Vision growing blurry, head striking itself brutally, begging to remember yet trying so hard to forget a memory which it'd hardly come to know. Something that happened so fast there's no way it could've happened at all.

Despite the air being cold, there was a burning sensation crawling up his body from head to toe. Smiling flames lunged and danced around the skeleton, faces twisted unnaturally into expressions of pure terror, demons cackling- weaving their devilish tails around his arms; tugging Sans around. Just a puppet on strings filled with rage of unsolved pasts, crushing the ones responsible when it was not his place to do so. Friends and family cried out around him. All. Around him. Dust swirled, shaping familiar and faded memories. Blasts of light tearing them to pieces bit by bit. One. After. Another.

"I'm not scared of you!"

Crushed.

"Tilly…!"

Why didn't he do anything?

 **"End 'em."**

Something snapped.

"LOOK WHA' GOOD IT DID!"

The flames engulfed his broken form on the ground, but no screams emitted from his mouth- no pain met as cold bones shattered apart. A damaged soul cracking and reforming, pulling itself apart and together again. Suffering for the pain it caused yet wasn't in control of. Gasping for life over something that couldn't be real. It just COULDN'T be real but felt so true.

"SANS!" Glowing orange light melded with the flames. But this light was good, mounted within a floating white form, "Sans! Snap out of it!"

"Swap…?"

"Who else would it be? There's only one as great as me! MWEHEHEH!" The voice responded.

Slowly, fog cleared away as the flames melted and sank into the floor, Swap and Tale coming into focus in-front of the battered monster. Then something interesting caught his eye- well, eyes now. He could see. At this thought, a bright blue light flickered in Sans's right eye socket. The blasters flickered in response, but this newly regained sense wasn't what fascinated him at the moment.

"Sup, chief… What, y'expectin' me to 'pologize or some shit like that? HA! Nah, no thanks. I don't feel like it. So y'need t'suck it up and accept an intra'duction inste'd. But I won' even keep lookin' at'cha if ya don't get your sorry ass off th' floor." There was a newcomer amongst the group, black like coal. He had two red eyes- the right one taking the appearance of a black and red target, while the left was the same as the other blasters'. His one glowing eye flickered impatiently.

Sans slowly eased his way up from his position on the ground, glaring at the new blaster; "Cheery fell'a."

"Cheery? C'mon now, chief, ease up on th'a profanity-" This newbie had the same slurred accent as Sans and the others, but spoke a little more clearly. His voice was more deep than it was rough "/b-and th' name's Fell. Don' forget it, don' wear it out./b"

"Fell, huh… Good t' meet ya, I s'ppose. Wherever y'came from."

"Y'really FELL apart th're f'er a sec'nd, kid. Y'okay now?" Tale piped up.

Swap cried out in frustration, bonking into the bigger blaster. "It's too early for this…"

"N'up, already made tha' joke!" Sans grunted, smirk curling up for a second before faltering to a frown, "W-wait… I've said tha' b'fore."

It wasn't abnormal for him to repeat past jokes. However, this was different.  
The hangover, the joke, those shards of a nightmare he just barely recollected, Fell showing up out of nowhere, his blind eye being fixed- which would have taken a miracle to repair.

Without waiting for his weapons to respond or explain, Sans hurried to the entrance of his room. He tugged his baseball cap onto his skull and quickly taped his glasses so they'd stay, rushing into the hallway. Legs and arms heavy, motions fast yet slow all at the same time. It felt like running through water or moving through a dream. This moment, every passing second, had already been lived. His feet had already met with each step he took.

"Papyrus?" The older brother called out, hurrying downstairs so fast the rattling of bones was the only sound to be heard throughout their home. There was a sense of urgency in his movements. Sans didn't know why but he needed to reach his sibling; "PAPS!" He yelled louder- Swap, Tale, and Fell right at his back, stopping their panicked keeper in the middle of the living room.

"Wh-wha' are ya doin'?! I need 'ta see him!" Sans protested, attempting to push the weapons out of the way but finding they'd practically frozen in mid-air.

"Just calm down, Sans." Swap reassured him, "You're obviously confused. You don't remember everything so let us explain what you forgot."

"Wha'... wha' d'ya mean? Are ya talkin' 'bout my nightmare? There's no reason tryin'a rememb'r it! Y'er wastin' my ti-"

"Would y'shut th' hell up an' listen? It wasn't a damn night terror! We'd 'ave told ya already if ya weren't such an impatient shit." Fell snapped, cutting Sans's protest short.

"MWEH!" Swap yelped, staring at the dark blaster in surprise, "Language!" He whined.

"Bite me." Fell snarled, narrowing his eyes at the orange-eyed creature.

The justice-seeking blaster was obviously angered and got up in Fell's face, both of them going back and forth. Swap was scolding but at least attempting to make peace. The other simply seemed to be enjoying the opportunity to show off his hotheaded nature.

"Welp, looks like I'm doin' th' talkin' this time." Tale sighed, his four eyes flickering- except for the bottom right, which always stayed black.

"Wha' talkin' is there 'ta do? Wha'd he mean it wasn't a nightmare?" Sans stumbled, feeling more and more overwhelmed by the second.

"That's wha' I'm tryin'a explain." Tale started, "Look, all tha' stuff y'er tryin' 'ta remember- th' hum'n attack, losin' Toby, Tilly, watchin' monst'ahs die left 'n right... Practically turnin' in'ta a hum'n ourselves after Fell showed up 'n lost his temp'r, y'er eye; it was all real. But th're was'a reset. Someone reset th'a timeline, don't know how, don't know who, but they did. It's good they did, too. Y'can warn pe'ple now. Dunno how you'll get 'em t'believe ya, it's worth'a shot though." It was too much to take in. Timeline? Reset? It'd all really happened, and Sans couldn't decide if the worst part about it was those monsters being afraid of more than just the humans, or the fact that he couldn't even remember anyone he killed.

Were they alive now? That's impossible.

"I don' understan'. Wha're you talkin' about- reset, timeline…? I've lived this day b'fore, but how? None o' this's possible, Tale. It doesn' make sense." Sans said slowly, moving over to the couch to sit down and think it all through; "Start at th'a beginnin' again. With th'a timeline stuff."

"How slow are ya?! This ain't that difficult 'ta understand, chief. Get whatev'ah brains ya got left out'a y'er ass 'n think f'er a change!" Fell broke away from his and Swap's back and forth- which had really become a lecture about politeness from the latter and a whole lot of not-caring from the former.

Before anyone could retaliate or calm the giant ball of emo rage, Papyrus interrupted them all; "Sans? I heard yelling but you never showed up and I grew concerned. Are you alrig- Oh! Nice blaster, where'd this one come from?" He chimed, walking over the side of the couch and leaning on the armrest as he studied the new weapon.

"He… uh… i-it's a long story, Paps." Sans mumbled, "An'- um- he's not th' import'nt thing here." His words were hesitant- slurred. It was relieving to see his brother safe yet so unnerving given the information from Tale that was still trying to process.

"Brother, what's the matter? Still a little woozy after your night at Grillby's? I have some medicine from Mama Alphys that may help if you'd like it." Paps inquired upon the smaller skeletal monster. Though the concern was appreciated it went unnoticed.

"No. No, it's not th' 'angover, Pap. I mean- ye'h, I've got'a 'eadache. That's not buggin' me righ' now, though." Was this even worth it? Who was going to believe him about the attack, it'd just be the ramblings of a comedian. Someone who was never taken seriously a day in his life.

Papyrus was fully focused on Sans now, and sat beside him quietly, knowing that any pressure to talk would only make him more frantic or confused. "You can tell me anything." Was all the younger sibling stated.

There was a tense silence between the two for a while.

After finally waving the blasters away- who were making Sans uncomfortable with their unflinching gaze- he finally spoke up, avoiding Pap's eyes "Bro, look… this'll sound crazy bu' somethin' happened. Somethin' bad happened. It happened t'day- well, kind o' t'day, t'day of a diff'rent time. Some'ne reset th' time and now it's gon'a happen again later if we don' stop it, but no one is gon'a believe us cause it's completely r'diculous an'-"

"Sans…"

"-I got really mad when it happen'd an' I did some bad things, but bro I didn' mean to an' now i've got'a set it right-"

"-Sans, please. . ."

"-The h'mans attack'd an'- an' they hurt everybody. They hurt Tilly! She was screamin'- oh, gosh how she screamed… an'- an' I snapped a- a- they're gonna do it AGAIN! We have'ta get everyone-" He couldn't stop. His words fumbled without end, tossing over until every syllable became nothing but gibberish. What was the point? How could he explain any of this to someone who couldn't even remember what happened? How could he possibly elaborate on how they literally went back in time and now everyone's life is in danger? How-

"SANS!" Papyrus cried out, breaking Sans's train of thought as he grabbed his brother's shoulders tightly; "What on earth are you blabbering on about? Something about a human attack- and time travel? I thought you said you were okay- were you having nightmares again? Maybe we should go see Mama Alphys after all."

"No! No, no, no. It's not- it's not like tha'! L-look, I don' really und'rstand it either, but there was a human ambush on th' village, okay? I was there. It happened. However, somehow, we got sent back t' th'a beginnin' of th' day. And it's gon'a happen again if we don't warn everyone and- i'unno, evacuate or some official shit like that." Sans managed to say, pulling his thoughts together enough to get the basic idea across.

The younger brother blinked. Slowly, his long, bony fingers covered by metallic, claw-like gloves released the smaller brother's cold shoulders and fell against the couch. Papyrus sat there mumbling for a long moment. Eventually the tall skeleton stood up. "We need to go see Mama Alphys." He stated, moving to pull on some boots. "You. . . You need some assistance, brother. I believe you may have drank too much. This hangover is really getting to you." Paps stated slowly- adding an awkward chuckle to hide his concern.

Sans ground his teeth together. A single word echoed through his mind. A word that'd been a label slapped against his forehead since day one. Crazy. He knew Papyrus would never believe him. He knew it'd be written off as some insane nightmare fueled by a tired, depressed imagination.

But why? Why, when it counted the most? The one damn time he expresses concern for anyone else other than their small family, he's thrown away as a hallucinating drunk?

"Brother, please. Let me help you."

Let me help you.

"You can help me by LISTENING TO ME!" Sans growled out, shooting to his feet and throwing his hand forward- encased by blue flames.

A sickening SNAP followed his actions causing the monster to bring attention to the noise. The sight before him was one Sans was sure he'd regret until the day he turned to dust.

A blue-turned soul flickering back to orange, an accidental victim of blind rage crumbling to the ground followed by trails of debris. White dust in resemblance to small spiders set free from the wall's imprisonment, leaving their spider-webbed cracks in the sheetrock.

Sans didn't have the composure to call out to his brother. He simply stood there, staring ahead at the catastrophe he'd caused.

It seemed like years- though it was likely only moments- before Papyrus started moving again, slowly pushing himself up off of the floor to sit back on his knees. Rubbing his skull- which had a new split across the rear side- his gaze met with the older skeleton's.

The black lines reaching out from behind his brother's head had Sans's breath catch. He'd hurt him. The one monster in the world that he'd never want to harm in any way - not that he wanted to hurt anyone in the first place. Sans wanted to apologize but before he could, Papyrus sat up suddenly.

"Brother. . . y-your eye!"

"I know, bro-" Sans mumbled, watching as the blue faded from the room and both eyes reverted back to their usual, white pupils, "-s'what I've been tryin'a explain t' ya. I don' know exactly wha' happen'd, but somethin' did. I-.. Look, I'd have'ta start from th'a beginnin'."

Helping the tall, confused guard off of the floor, Pap nodded along- listening intently as Sans gave the best synopsis he could of what Tale had told him about today. Or, the other "today" that isn't really today… the past today? Whatever.

Once both of them were calmed and the story was shared, it was finally agreed that they would go talk to Alphys. After all, she is a scientist. There had to be some explanation for everything that was going on- no matter how impossible time travel seemed or the unexplained miracle of restored sight.

They needed answers.

Knock, knock.

"Mom'a Alphys!" Sans called, rapping his knuckles against her and Undyne's front door.

The sun was barely peeking out from behind the snow-filled clouds that'd moved in throughout the later morning hours. Fog drifted over the chilled air, causing Sans to pull his hat down further and burying his face into the warm fur of the jacket's hood. The longer they waited, the more uncomfortable he began to grow- feeling Papyrus's ever-lingering gaze on the newly revived eye.

 _It's like he's scared of me-_

"Maybe she came to our home to use the lab today and I didn't notice- which is very unlikely for the Great Papyrus, of course… but I suppose it could be a plausible explanation," Pap chimed, drawing Sans away from his thoughts. "She worries for Undyne so maybe wished to speak with me to be happy! I am the cheeriest skele around, you know." He blinked, looked down at his brother and added, "But not the funniest. I'll give you - and your puns - that one."

"Nah, no off'nse t'a Mom'a, but she hardly ev'r leaves th' house. She's got'a be here." He replied, moving to knock again just as the door was swept away from him.

"We-ell no-o-ow! If that wa-a-asn't so t-true I'd be qui-i-te upset with you Sa-ans!" Their mother stammered out, leaning the side of her head against the paw that held the door- her usual crooked smile beaming at them.

Before either of the brothers could get a word in they saw her expression immediately falter as soon as her eyes met with Sans's. Something about her face said she didn't know what, but something was different. "Wha-a-at on ear-rth could be s-s-so important that you have to wa-a-ake me up at this ho-our? A-are you sick? Did Papy-yrus set the ki-ki-kitchen on fire aga-ain?"

Seeing the protest waver over Papyrus's face for a moment at the last comment, Sans spoke up; "Oh- ah- no! No, no, tha's n'aht why we're 'ere, Mama. Somethin' happened-" How many times was he going to say that today, "-and we thought y'might 'ave some answers. But it's best we talk about this inside."

Her nose wrinkled in response, causing dull, yellow scales to scrunch over one another in small hills. Eyes continuously locked onto the oldest, Alphys shuffled back, pulling the door with her so as to let her sons inside. Papyrus walked in first with long, lightweight strides- his smile seeming to grow as he went, if that was even possible.

Before them opened a small, cozy home. Alphys and Undyne were two of the few monsters besides the skelebros and select others that lived in normal houses rather than hutches. Most chose hutches because they were easy to tear down and move, but Alphys was never concerned with taking possessions with her other than necessities if they needed to leave, so she- along with the skeletons' father- decided to build a proper home of their own.

The home was simply decorated to match its simple, boxy stature. The living room was to the right of the foyer; consisting of a squatty, old-fashioned T.V. in-front of a curtained window towards the far corner of the room, a sectional couch parallel to said T.V. and a coffee table between the two with magazines and mugs scattered all about its surface. To the left, a kitchen with counter space along the back and side walls, separated from one another at one corner by the fridge and at the other corner by a wood-burning stove.

Further down a short hallway was the den/dining hall, taking up the majority of the house's structure with only a large table surrounded by six chairs to fill its space, three windows- one on each wall- and their bedroom branching off in the far left corner. It was the largest room in the house due to Undyne's Guard meetings and consultations with King Asgore.

Sans appreciated the familiar scenery, remembering how most of his time had been spent here after his childhood incident, during the days when him and Papyrus had found no interest in wanting to return to their proper home just yet. Beige walls contrasted by deep, green carpet gave off such a conspicuous comfort that the monster almost forgot why he was here in the first place.

"Sa-ans. Y-you can si-i-it, if you like." Mom'a Alphys stammered, nudging

Him softly as she hobbled by, placing herself next to Pap who had already eagerly situated upon the couch.

"Ah, righ', sorry. Jus' been feelin' off since 'ah woke up," Sans replied, shifting his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other, "bu' I think I'd rath'r stand if tha's a'ight."

This caught Papyrus's attention; "Sans the Skeleton doesn't want to sit and laze around?! Oh dear! This day is even worse than I thought!" He cried out, dramatically dropping his skull into his hands.

Mom'a Alphys smiled at Pap's antics, gently patting his arm in her usual, motherly way. Oh, if only she knew how serious the situation truly was. How her son's reaction was far more than a silly, theatric display.

" ** _Y'er_** **havin' a bad day!? Oh hell no, he hasn't 'ad to deal with this lil', anxious, blue piece o' shit!** " Fell's voice suddenly snapped defiantly from behind Sans, causing the small skeleton to whirl around in surprise, eyes flickering in response to the Blaster's annoyance.

"W-wow… whe-e-ere'd you find a n-n-new Bla-aster, Sans?" His adoptive mother chimed in, though she sounded much more on-edge than she did before.

" **Well, y' gon'a tell 'er who I am, Chief? 'Bout damn time.** " The smirk in his voice made Sans want to crush that grinning, black skull.

Turning back around, vision blazing blue, Sans responded; "This's Fell… he's part o' wha' I want'd t' tell ya."

His soul churned at the look on Alphys's face upon seeing the skeleton's eyes lit up in their fire. She was so obviously scared, a trembling claw pressed defensively against her chest. Her soul was a shimmering, panicked yellow behind her paw but Sans caught sight of something different drifting just near to it- something small, pure.

Eyesockets going black, Fell disappeared in his usual puff of smoke, Sans staring at the soul his mother so feverishly protected. "Mom'a… is… that what I think it is?" He asked quietly, fear hammering away within a buzzing skull.

Alphys, knowing she was safe now, slowly lowered her paw, revealing a little soul speck drifting around her own soul's aura, glimmering half yellow-orange and half pale green, fading into one another to create an odd mix of colors in the middle.

"I wa-a-asn't expe-ecting to te-ell you both this wa-ay… but you're go-oing to ha-a-ave two-"

"TWIN SIBLINGS!?" Papyrus screeched in excitement, cutting Alphys off, "OH, Mama Alphys this is SO EXCITING!"

She laughed at his characteristic enthusiasm, grabbing both of his gloved hands and beaming with excitement; "You're go-o-oing to be-e-e a bi-ig brother no-ow! Isn't thi-i-is wonderfu-u-ul, Sans?" Her head turned to the eldest son, but her smile faltered when she saw the look on his face- his pupils still hadn't returned.

 _Didn't she see my eye?_

"Mom'a… this- it's great, I'm so 'appy f'er ya, but y'need to listen-"

Before he could explain the one thing he wanted someone to understand all morning, the front door swung open, followed by a frustrated growl.

"Papyrus!" Undyne boomed, stomping around the corner, "Rando said you'd be here. You're late for training! Never thought I'd say that, but it's true, so get your lack-of-an-ass out here!"

Her armor shifted as she leaned against her spear, shooting him a frustrated glare. For a moment, the sharp-toothed, long-haired warrior seemed as though she was going to tear the skeleton's skull right off his neck- which was an unusual behavior for Undyne, at least towards Papyrus- but her uncovered eye softens when she sees Alphys.

"Ah! Alph, you told 'em! Damn, I wish ya would've told me you were doin' this today." Undyne chuckled, grinning her shark-like grin as she walked over, patting Sans on the head when she passed by.

"We-ell.. I wa-a-asn't exactly pla-a-anning to, but it's ha-a-ard to hide a ha-arbouring soul when it's a-always floa-a-ating out at a-all times…" The small reptile replied, leaning against Undyne's shoulder when she sat down.

"I suppose you're right. Well, either way, I'm glad you boys know now! It was pretty hard to contain my excitement about it, but we had to make sure the first few days went well before we told anyone. Once Alphys started showing, we decided to tell you tomorrow! But I suppose this worked out on its own." The guard rambled, looking happily at her little family.

"Yes, yes! It worked out so nicely! We should celebrate someh- OH DEAR, THE TRAINING!" Papyrus spewed out a jumbled sentence all at once; "Undyne! I've already made myself late and now you'll be late as well! Sorry to leave, Mama, but there's work to be done!"

Upon the realization, him and Undyne both rose quickly to their feet, waved good-bye, and began heading towards the door.

"B-bro! Wait, I'll go with ya t'day!" Sans called, hurrying forward and catching his brother by his arm, "But we had somethin' imp'rtant t' tell Mom'a, rememb'r?"

The tall skeleton looked down at him in surprise, at both his request and the never-ending worry upon his face. Apparently no one had managed to think about why they'd come here in the first place- as if time was urging them along, pushing them towards the flow that was not to be interrupted by anything or anyone for any reason. The clock was ticking, if fate was to be changed Sans had to do it now.

Papyrus blinked, shaking his head with an amused look and replying; "Oh, brother. Your eye is fixed, not more broken! So it's, essentially, not much of a worrisome matter at the moment. Mama Alphys can look at it later, I'm sure!"

With that, Sans was grabbed by his hand and the two guards began walking out the door, Alphys following only to stop at the threshold.

"Mom'a! Listen, you've got'a listen, there's gon'a be a hum'n ambush, okay? I dun'o how but t'day has already 'appened and time 'as been reset! Tha's how my eye was fixed. So many things went wrong, and if some'ne doesn't fix it, this town is goin' up in flames! You've got'a help me! Undyne! Mom'a, both of ya! Please!" Sans pleaded as Papyrus pulled him along, ahead of their mothers.

Hearing Sans's cries, Swap poofed into existence above Alphys's head. He tried to call the blaster back, but Swap refused to leave her side- promising to protect her.  
When Alphys saw the trusted weapon wasn't listening to her son, she paused, sharing a worried look with Undyne as Sans's words played over and over again within their heads.

Maybe there was more to the story after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Thankfully all of his fuss about the humans attacking had Undyne on edge. She didn't exactly believe Sans, but at the same time didn't feel comfortable taking the guards too far from the village. The head of the Royal Guard still took the training group out of the village but stopped at the flower field nearby. She had the guards sit in the flowers and those doing the actual training would do so on the path - so as not to ruin the field. Though she doesn't have 'girly' feelings about nature and junk, the fish knew her wife loved flowers and was acting as such.

Papyrus was still amazed that Sans had gone with them and Undyne seemed intrigued by it. Mostly he just sat off to the side, watching and listening. Watching the sparing and hoping his brother didn't get hurt, while listening for anything back toward town.

"Sans!"

The skele jumped when the voice finally cut through. "Huh?"

It was Undyne. "Get over here! I need you to show some of these monsters something."

"Uh… Sure." Sans snapped his fingers, appearing beside her. "Sup?"

"Tell them how much HP you have."

At the sound of it, his soul gave a quiver. It didn't light up but just the slight twinge gave him chills. "One."

Some of the newer recruits flinched. "One? How's that a thing?" "That's no good." "I'd live inside forever!" Sans snickered with that last one cause that's totally what he did anyway.

Undyne laughed as well, louder. "I bet you'd all love to take a hit at him."

All of them stared at her like she were insane.

As if to prove a point, she quickly drew her spear and lashed out. Of course Sans had already seen it coming and had stepped back, just out of reach. The air from it was cold, wisping past his cheekbone. Sans knew she wouldn't have hit him if she had known he wouldn't move so he wasn't afraid. "I was gettin' tired o' standin'. Thanks f'er tha' breath o' fresh air."

Everyone but Papyrus had gasped.

"Now then, what do you call that?" She asked them.

"STUPID!" someone shouted and was suddenly invisible, hiding after saying that.

She laughed anyway. "No, it's called dodging! Sans here is an expert!" Undyne pat the shorter monster's back. "I know a lot of you have a lot of health and defense, but the more you dodge, the longer you can stay in battle!" She glared at one soldier in particular. "No more taking damage just because you can!"

The dog in question shrunk into his armor when everyone snickered at him.

"I want everyone to - you can go sit back down, Sans - to practice dodging today! It could save your life!"

Sans did as he was told and sat back down.

Pairs were made and the training began. Sans watched monsters attempt and still get hit. One monster dodged by a projectile and, suddenly, Sans's soul twitched. He had only just closed his eyes but felt the danger. He tumbled off the rock he'd decided to make his chair just as the white bullet struck it.

"Sans?" Papyrus called.

"I'm 'ere, bro." Sans waved from behind it, lazily. "Jus' rollin' with th'a punches."

His aggravated yell made the younger brother smile, though he didn't know if it was at the pun or the one who'd almost hit him.

Some more time passed and finally Undyne called him over again. What did she want now…?

As Sans came over Undyne suddenly said, "I want you guys to see dodging in full action! Papyrus!"

The skeleton jumped up. "YES!"

"You're going to fight your brother."

He flinched. "Nyeh? Sans?"

Sans didn't like that either. He'd already hurt Papyrus once today. "Uh… I don' think sparrin' is righ' f'er me." He had his hands up and was backing away.

"Nonsense! You two are perfect!" Undyne smiled. "I know it's been awhile since you've been in a fight, Sans, but I know you won't get hit." Her eyes were trusting and the shorter skele sighed.

"Fine. Bu' if Papy gets hurt a'h all, I'm done." Which means I won't attack. Sans backed himself up to give the two of them a good starting point, like the old days.

Papyrus agreed under the same terms (if Sans's soul begins cracking) and set himself up. "I'm not holding back, brother."

"I didn' tell ya to." He stood there, feeling for anything. Of course Papyrus didn't start immediately, but once the ground gave a jolt, he moved. Bones shot up beside him, blue. "Come on, bro, you can't BONE me that easily."

Several more came flying from the ground, ripping ridges in the path. Sans jumped up and flipped his way over them. "Not y'er bes' work, TIBIA honest." He smirked at how angry he was making him. "Wha'? I think I'm pretty HUMERUS." That one cost him. A short bone rushed up from behind. Sans jumped it and stood for the blue one zooming from the front. He let out a sigh.

"What are you doing?!" Pap yelled.

"Not gettin' hit?" Sans answered with a shrug.

"Attack me! That's the point of sparring."

"Uuuh…" He didn't feel like it. At the moment with this new blaster… He didn't feel safe doing that. "Okay." Sans let a single, small bone jump up beside his brother. "Wow! Such a good dodge, bro!"

He grumbled. "SANS!"

Sans laughed, jumping this way and that, hovering himself to get away from the attacks. "I though' we were showin' th'a importance o' dodgin'? That's wha' I'm doin'."

"Yes, but it must be shown both ways!" A blue bone jutted up behind, and Sans couldn't stop.

He grabbed his soul and threw it to the side, the bone gliding past his jacket. Wind ripped through him, cold. There was a hole in the jacket where it had been snagged. He had almost been hit.

Papyrus didn't seem phased by it. "You have to take this seriously, Sans!" he yelled.

"I am! I don' wann'a hurt ya!" Sans snapped back.

"We're training! If you don't fight me back then I'll never learn!" Papyrus threw several more bones, growing quicker with his increasing frustration.

Sans moved this way, that way, ducked, rolled. The heat from each flying missile burned against his bones. His soul was flaring up, warning him of danger. Papyrus was actually trying to hit him now. Sans was only just getting out of the way.

"I can't learn to dodge if you don't teach me!"

More and more. He couldn't keep track. One bone came dangerously close, skimming at the rim of his beanie and actually burning the tape holding his glasses, knocking them off. "Pap- stop!" he yelled.

"If you really cared- ATTACK ME!"

 **VOOOM!**

A solid red beam.

It shot out and Papyrus almost didn't move. The light crashed into the flowers sending a few guards near it flying. Dirt and debris covered everything- leaving a crevice in the beam's wake.

Sans took several deep breaths. His soul was in a panic. Legs burned, arms ached, head was splitting. And his eyes. One was red. He could see a mixture of red and blue blurring everything. Behind Sans, he knew Fell had come out. One hand out, shaking and palm facing his brother. He'd ordered the attack without realizing.

"Yes! That's it, brother!" But then Papyrus hesitated, possibly noticing the red eye?

Sans felt sick. Something about the black blaster being there… wasn't right.

"Is everything alright, Sans?"

Undyne had noticed it too as she'd now come into view of the fight. Fell turned, grumbling and growling like an animal. The intelligence that was normally there… wasn't.

Sans felt the energy building, pulsing against the back of the blaster's teeth. His soul gave another shudder and he took a knee, feeling weak. Then another solid beam shot out, ripping just past Undyne and slamming into the ground. Suddenly, for just a moment, Sans realized he didn't want it to stop.

"Okay, that's enough of that for today," Undyne was cautiously saying. "Time to put the blaster away."

Sans smirked. "Oh, so it's okay f'er Papyrus t' be serious, but th' moment I do, you want t'a quit? Sounds a bit FISHY t' me, Undyne. We all know ya COD do bett'a." He stood and lifted an arm. Bones rose up behind him and Fell was getting ready to fire again. "I TROUT ya even know wha' I coul' do!" The beam let loose as did the bones.

Undyne shielded herself with a spinning spear and Paps did his best to dodge. The taller skele only took a couple small hits, but not enough to do much damage.

"Heh, I though' ya said this goes both ways? Throw me a bone, bro!" Just as he was about to attempt attacking again, a sound had him stop. His eye faded back to blue and Fell's personality returned.

 **"** **Soun's like shit's 'bout t'a go down. Ya bett'ah hurry th'a fuck up, Chief."** Fell was glaring back toward the village.

Sans shook his head. "Th- The village!" He reached out a hand, grabbed Papyrus's soul and yanked the unwilling skeleton over. "Papyrus, we need t'a get back. The ambush is startin' any minute!"

Papyrus sighed. "Sans, there is no-"

Another distant crash. It didn't sound exactly like the flaming bottles from before, but the skele didn't want to risk it. "PAPYRUS! When th' hell in my life 'ave I ev'ah been this s'urious?"

That seemed to strike something in him as the older skeleton stopped fighting. The small memory of the day Pap had gotten bit by that dog came to mind and Sans let his soul go.

"Believe me or not, I'm goin' back!" Sans hopped on Fell, but before they could take off Sans said, "Tilly, Toby, it's not nice t' spy on monsters like that." The two younger monsters rolled out of a bush just behind where their training had been going on. Tilly's fur was sparking a dark blue, worry or something? He'd have to figure out the different colors later. Sans glared back at Papyrus. "'Ave someone take 'em somewhere safe."

"Sans! Wait!"

And of course he hesitated. Fell hovered there and the skele on top turned back, not saying anything.

"At least let us all return together." Papyrus was looking aggravated and Sans knew he was just following along with what he thought was pure insanity. "If what you're saying is true, let's all go home together. Okay?"

Sighing, Sans hopped off of Fell and wished him away. "Okay. We'll go t'gether." When Papyrus gave a small grin, Sans added, "But we've gott'a hurry."

They both followed along with the group as everyone was returning to town, Tilly in Sans's hood and Toby running right at Papyrus's feet. The older skele nudged his brother's side, allowing a shaky grin to widen across his face in an attempt to lighten the mood, and out came his favourite coping mechanism: puns. Welp, so much for being in a hurry.

"Y'know bro, I'd 'ave taken th' fight back there more s'riously, but I didn' have th'a GUTS."

"Sans."

"I guess tha' can't be said 'bout th'a Great Papyrus. You're always workin' y'erself to th'a BONE."

"SANS." In his annoyance, the taller monster snatched up a handful of snow- slinging it at Sans's face, but missing him by a hair.

"S'rry, can't stop this pun train. I was BONE t'ah be punny." Sans retorted, cackling as he hovered himself forward just ahead of Pap. Tilly was kicking with laughter.

"OH MY GOD!" The cry was muffled as Papyrus buried his face into his gloves.

A handful of the guards were laughing and Sans knew deep down that his brother did like the puns. At least it let him know he was okay. It allowed for the tension to be eased, despite what was ahead of them. "C'mon, Pap. Y'love my puns."

"YOU WISH."

"Y've always been bad a'h lyin', bro." Sans smirked.

"What?! The great Papyrus is never bad at-"

"I've a'hways been able t' see RIGH' THROUGH YA."

"...OH. MY. GOD."

"And y'were pretty close t'ah hittin' me. I only MARROW-ly escap'd."

"SANS. STOP."

The smaller skeleton snickered, though his mind stayed on what was ahead.


End file.
